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His board was raised on the crest of a wave and then 

TOSSED OVER THE FALLS 


Twilight ^Animal Series 


WASHER 
THE RACCOON 


By 

GEORGE ETHELBERT WALSH 

Author of “ Bumper the White Rabbit ” “ Bumper the White Rabbit in the 
Woods” “ Bumper the White Rabbit and His Foes” u Bumper the 
White Rabbit and His Friends” “ Bobby Gray Squirrel” 

“ Bobby Gray Squirrels Adventures” Etc . 


Colored Illustrations by 

EDWIN JOHN PRITTIE 



THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY 

CHICAGO PHILADELPHIA TORONTO 


TWILIGHT ANIMAL SERIES 
FOR BOYS AND GIRLS 



FROM 4 TO 10 YEARS OF AGE 


10 »($ 

Tuo 

no.S 


By 

GEORGE ETHELBERT WALSH 


LIST OF TITLES 


1 BUMPER THE WHITE RABBIT 

2 BUMPER THE WHITE RABBIT IN THE WOODS 

3 BUMPER THE WHITE RABBIT AND HIS FOES 

4 BUMPER THE WHITE RABBIT AND HIS FRIENDS 

5 BOBBY GRAY SQUIRREL 

6 BOBBY GRAY SQUIRREL’S ADVENTURES 

7 BUSTER THE BIG BROWN BEAR 

8 BUSTER THE BIG BROWN BEAR’S ADVENTURES 

9 WHITE TAIL THE DEER 

10 WHITE TAIL THE DEER’S ADVENTURES 

11 WASHER, THE RACCOON 

(Other titles in preparation) 

Issued in uniform style with this volume 
PRICE 65 CENTS EACH, Postpaid 

EACH VOLUME CONTAINS COLORED ILLUSTRATIONS 


Copyright 1922 by 

THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY 


Copyright MCMXVII by George E. Walsh 


SEP 19 '23 

©C1A711958 


INTRODUCTION TO THE 
TWILIGHT ANIMAL STORIES 
By the Author 

All little boys and girls who love animals 
should become acquainted with Bumper the 
white rabbit, with Bobby Gray Squirrel, 
with Buster the bear, and with White Tail 
the deer, for they are all a jolly lot, brave and 
fearless in danger, and so lovable that you 
won’t lay down any one of the books without 
saying wistfully, “I almost wish I had them 
really and truly as friends and not just story- 
book acquaintances.” That, of course, is a 
splendkLwish ; but none of us could afford to 
have a big menagerie of wild animals, and 
that’s just what you would have to do if you 
went outside of the books. Bumper had many 
friends, such as Mr. Blind Rabbit, Fuzzy Wuzz 
and Goggle Eyes, his country cousins; and 
Bobby Gray Squirrel had his near cousins, 
Stripe the chipmunk and Webb the flying 
squirrel; while Buster and White Tail were 
favored with an endless number of friends and 
relatives. If we turned them all loose from the 
books, and put them in a ten-acre lot — but 


INTRODUCTION 


no, ten acres wouldn't be big enough to 
accommodate them, perhaps not a hundred 
acres. 

So we will leave them just where they are 
— in the books — and read about them, and 
let our imaginations take us to them where we 
can see them playing, skipping, singing, and 
sometimes fighting, and if we read very care- 
fully, and think as we go along, we may come 
to know them even better than if we went out 
hunting for them. 

Another thing we should remember. By 
leaving them in the books, hundreds and 
thousands of other boys and girls can enjoy 
them, too, sharing with us the pleasures of 
the imagination, which after all is one of the 
greatest things in the world. In gathering 
them together in a real menagerie, we would be 
selfish both to Bumper, Bobby, Buster, White 
Tail and their friends as well as to thousands 
of other little readers who could not share 
them with us. So these books of Twilight 
Animal Stories are dedicated to all little boys 
and girls who love wild animals. All others 
are forbidden to read them! They wouldn’t 
understand them if they did. 

So come out into the woods with me, and 
let us listen and watch, and I promise you it 
will be worth while. 


CONTENTS 


Washer’s First Adventures 9 

Washer is Carried to the Wolf’s Den 15 

Mother Wolf Takes a Hand 21 

Mother Wolf Saves Washer’s Life 27 

Sneaky Visits Black Wolf 35 

Mother Wolf Decides to Adopt Washer 43 

Washer Learns He is Not a Wolf 51 

The Cubs Tree a Stranger 59 

Washer Saves One of His Own People 67 

Mother Wolf Listens to Washer’s Story 75 

Washer is Introduced to the Wolf Pack 83 

Black Wolf Defies the Pack 91 

Washer Goes to the Silver Birch Grove 99 

Washer Is Freed by Strangers 107 

The Cubs Listen to Washer’s Plea 115 

Washer Finds His oMther and Brothers 123 








V 










WASHER THE RACCOON 

STORY ONE 
washer's first adventure 

Washer was the youngest of a family of 
three Raccoons, born in the woods close to 
the shores of Beaver Pond, and not half a mile 
from Rocky Falls where the water, as you 
know, turns into silvery spray that sparkles 
in the sun-shine like diamonds and rubies. 
And, indeed, the animals and birds of the 
North Woods much prefer this glittering 
spray and foam that rise in a steady cloud 
from the bottom of the falls to all the jewels 
and gems ever dug out of the earth! For, 
though each drop sparkles but a moment, and 
then vanishes from sight, there are a million 
others to follow it, and when you bathe in 
them they wash and scour away the dirt, and 
make you clean and fresh in body and soul. 

Washer had his first great adventure at 
Rocky Falls, and it is a wonder that he ever 
lived to tell the tale, for the water which 
flows over the falls is almost as cruel and ter- 
rible as it is sparkling and inviting. But 


9 


10 


Washer the Raccoon 


Washer knew nothing of this then, for he was 
a very young Raccoon, and not quite respon- 
sible for all he did. Perhaps it was Mother 
Raccoon that was to blame, for it was her 
duty to look after her little ones until they 
were old enough to hunt for themselves. It 
is a law of the woods that any mother of bird 
or animal who neglects its young shall be 
punished. 

The nature of the punishment has never 
been told, but in the case of Washer’s mother 
you can easily guess what it was. It was an 
uneasy conscience that her neglect had caused 
her child’s death, and she would never see 
him again. 

But Washer apparently had as many lives 
as a cat, for he was not killed, and he lived 
long after his mother had given up all hopes 
of ever seeing him again. No one — certainly 
no Raccoon — had ever gone over Rocky Falls, 
and been heard of afterward. Therefore, 
Washer was dead. Mother Raccoon believed 
that, and reported the sad news to all her 
family and friends. 

It was a bright, sunny day. Washer had 
been playing near the edge of the river above 
the falls with his two brothers — playing very 
much as three boys or three girls would do if 
let loose in the woods. They were only baby 
Raccoons, and could not run very fast, and 


Washer’s First Adventure 11 

every time they dipped a paw in the w r ater 
they squealed and made a great noise. 

It was perfectly safe near the shore, for a 
big tree blown down by the wind cut off the 
swift current of the river and formed a little 
back eddy. Mother Raccoon had told them 
they could wade around in the shoal water, 
but she didn’t say anything about not going 
in anywhere else. 

Washer did not think he was doing any- 
thing wrong, therefore, when growing tired 
of wading he crawled far out on the end of 
the big tree lying on its side to watch the 
swift current flowing by. Pieces of drift- 
wood, twigs, knots and sticks of wood of all 
sizes passed him in an endless procession. He 
snatched at some of these with his paws, and 
caught one or two. 

Each time he was successful, he squealed 
with delight. Of course, he grew bolder and 
more reckless until finally he stood on the end 
of the very last branch of the fallen tree. 
From there he could reach more sticks float- 
ing down stream. One particularly big one 
attracted his attention. It was a little further 
out than the others, but Washer was sure he 
could reach it. 

But he missed it by an inch, and the force 
of the blow with his paw at the stick un- 
balanced him. He clutched frantically at the 


12 


Washer the Raccoon 


tree branch. It broke off close to the trunk, 
and Washer toppled over into the deep, dark 
stream. 

When he came up to the surface, he 
squealed as loud as he could: “Help! Help!” 

His two brothers playing inshore heard the 
cry, but they thought it was one of Washer’s 
tricks, and they paid no attention to it But 
Mother Raccoon, who had been dozing in the 
bushes, was quick to note the cry of alarm, 
and she sprang up a stump to look around. 

She had just one last glimpse of Washer. 
He was in the river, struggling to crawl up- 
on the big board that had caused his mishap. 
Then board and Raccoon disappeared in the 
smother of the rapids, which began just above 
the falls. 

Mother Raccoon ran frantically along the 
banks of the river, calling to Washer, but she 
knew there was no help for him. Nothing 
that she could do would rescue him from the 
terrible adventure ahead. 

Washer himself was more surprised than 
frightened at first. He was not exactly afraid 
of the water, and the ducking didn’t bother 
him ; but when he managed to climb upon the 
board and looked around he began to feel 
more frightened than surprised. His frail 
boat was being twisted and whirled around 
like a top, making him dizzy; the shore was 


Washer’s First Adventure 13 

rushing past him, and all about him was foam 
and spray that sparkled and glittered in the 
sun-light. But just then Washer wasn’t much 
interested in things that glistened. 

He saw the top of the falls ahead. Toward 
that he was being hurried, and the further he 
drifted the rougher grew the waters. His 
board pitched and tossed, making it difficult 
for the baby Raccoon to cling to it. 

Washer was frightened, and in his fear he 
called loudly for his mother; but the roar of 
the falls ahead drowned his voice. 

It all happened quickly, and the end came 
before Washer could call many times for his 
mother. His board was raised on the crest 
of a wave, and then tossed over the falls, with 
Washer clinging desperately to it. 

Down, down, they went together, the water 
blinding and suffocating him. It seemed as 
if the falls were miles and miles high, and 
that he would never reach the river below. 
Of course, they were not as many feet high 
as Washer mistook for miles. But it was 
high enough to kill or drown most animals 
who went over the precipice. 

It is hard to say just what saved Washer. 
Perhaps it was because he was tougher than 
most Raccoons, or because he clung to the 
board and when it bobbed up to the surface 
it had to bring him up with it. Anyway, 


14 


Washer the Raccoon 


Washer finally got the spray out of his eyes, 
and found himself floating down the lower 
river with the falls behind him. 

He had taken the dip of death, and sur- 
vived it. He was out of all immediate dan- 
ger. For the first time then he had eyes to 
admire the sparkling mist and spray rising 
like a million diamonds from the top and 
bottom of the falls. 

“I must get ashore now, and dry myself,” 
he said to himself. “I was never so wet in 
all my life.” 

He began paddling with his front paws, 
and in this way gradually directed hi9 raft 
toward the shore. When he was near enough 
he took a flying leap and landed on a log and 
clung to it. 

But he was in a strange country, and far 
from home, and he began to be afraid again. 
Just when he thought he would break down 
and cry, he heard a sniffing noise in the 
bushes, and looking up he found himself face 
to face with a big, shaggy animal, whose 
fierce, glaring eyes sent the shivers all through 
him. It was Sneaky the Wolf, who had been 
watching him land, and in the next story you 
will hear of what Sneaky did to him. 


STORY TWO 

WASHER IS CARRIED TO THE WOLF'S DEN 

Washer felt his little heart throb at the 
sight of the yellow eyes watching him, and 
the shaggy body of Sneaky seemed bigger 
than that of any animal he had ever dreamed 
of in the North Woods. Washer gave a fren- 
zied little squeak, and tried to hop back upon 
his raft; but he did not get far. Sneaky 
pounced down upon him, and the double row 
of white teeth closed upon his back and scruff 
of the neck. 

“Oh, please — please, don’t kill me!” 
shrieked Washer, almost fainting from fear. 

But Sneaky paid no attention to his appeal. 
The powerful jaws held him a prisoner. 
Every moment Washer expected they would 
close tighter and crunch his bones. 

But apparently the Wolf had no idea of 
killing him right away. Washer, young as 
he was, knew that many of the wild animals 
of the woods teased and tortured their victims 
before killing them. Some of his own people 
had been guilty of this very cruelty. Washer, 
knowing now how it felt, decided that if he 
ever escaped he would never torture any one 
— no, never, not as long as he lived! 


15 


16 


Washer the Raccoon 


Sneaky picked him up in his mouth, and 
began trotting away through the bushes, 
carrying Washer as easily as a cat carries its 
kittens. The jaws of the Wolf were closed 
uncomfortably tight on his neck, but after all 
they did not actually hurt the poor little Rac- 
coon. The sharp, white teeth did not go 
through his thick fur and tough skin. 

For a long time Sneaky trotted along in a 
mechanical lope, never once opening his 
mouth to speak, although Washer kept plead- 
ing with him, hoping that he would loosen his 
hold on his neck the minute he opened his 
mouth to say a word. Sneaky was too wise 
for that, for no Wolf can talk and still keep 
his mouth closed. He can growl and grum- 
ble, but not actually talk. 

They passed through the thickest part of 
the woods, and then began climbing a rough 
trail among the rocks and stones. Then they 
came to a brook, which Sneaky crossed by 
jumping from stone to stone, and after that 
the Wolf followed a path that lead to the 
mouth of a cave. 

When Washer saw this he opened his 
mouth in a series of pitiful cries, for he knew 
this was the entrance to the Wolf’s den. He 
could tell this by the peculiar smell of the 
place. The air was filled with odors that 
made the baby Raccoon hold his breath. 


Washer is Carried to the Wolf’s Den IT 

But Sneaky was still silent and dumb. He 
trotted through the entrance and disappeared 
in the darkness of the cave. At first Washer 
could see nothing, but then gradually his eyes 
grew accustomed to the place, and his last 
hope vanished when he saw another Wolf al- 
most as big as Sneaky and three little cubs 
playing at her feet. 

“What have you here, Sneaky?” Mother 
Wolf growled when her lordly mate ap- 
peared. 

Sneaky deposited Washer at the foot of 
Mother Wolf, and spoke for the first time. 
“A nice little dinner for you and the chil- 
dren,” he said. “I brought him home alive 
so you could show the babies how to kill. It 
will be great sport watching them.” 

At the sound of his voice, Washer made a 
desperate effort to escape, but Sneaky’s paw 
came down on his back and held him. 

“He’s a lively little Raccoon,” Sneaky re- 
marked, grinning so his white teeth showed. 

Mother Wolf looked at Washer, turned 
him over with a paw, and sniffed at him. 
Then she raised her head and looked at her 
mate. “He’s only a baby Raccoon,” she said. 
“Where’d you find the nest? And what did 
you do with the others? Ate them up, I sup- 
pose! That’s why you’re so generous in bring- 
ing this one home to us.” 


18 Washer the Raccoon 

Washer thought there was a look of dis- 
gust in the eyes and voice, and Sneaky evi- 
dently thought so, too, for he looked a little 
crestfallen, and then said: “No, I didn’t find 
his nest. He was floating down the river on 
a board, and when he landed I caught him.” 

Mother Wolf sniffed again, and looked a 
little incredulous. She turned Washer over 
again. “He’s a mere baby,” she murmured, 
“not much older than our dear little ones.” 

“Yes, and he’ll be sweet and tender,” added 
Sneaky, stretching himself. “It won’t hurt 
our children to eat part of him after they’ve 
killed him.” 

Mother Wolf did not seem anxious to kill 
Washer, nor was she ready to teach her little 
ones to kill. “We won’t kill him today,” she 
said finally. “My little ones are well fed, 
and they couldn’t eat more without hurting 
them. We will keep him until tomorrow.” 

Sneaky was a little hurt at this remark, for 
he had planned to help with the feast when 
the others had eaten all they wanted, and he 
growled disconsolately: “What’ll we do with 
him over night? He’ll try to escape from us 
when we’re asleep.” 

“Put him in with the children, and I’ll 
watch him,” replied Mother Wolf. “I never 
sleep with both eyes shut.” 

Mother Wolf was boss of the den, for 


Washer is Carried to the Wolf’s Den 19 

Sneaky grumblingly picked up Washer once 
more and carried him into the darkest corner 
of the cave and dropped him down among 
the little sleeping cubs. Their warm bodies 
felt good to Washer, and he crawled up close 
to them. He knew that he would not be 
killed until the next day, and he was very 
tired and sleepy. 

Within ten minutes he was sleeping as 
soundly as the Wolf cubs, snuggling close up 
to them with his little body half buried from 
sight by the legs and paws of his strange bed 
fellows. He did not know that once or twice 
in the night time, Mother Wolf came over 
and looked down at him, with a very, very 
queer expression in her eyes. Each time, she 
walked away, grumbling to herself: “He’s 
only a baby — a little baby.” 

It was morning before Washer opened his 
eyes, although it was so dark in the cave he 
could not tell that the sun was shining out- 
side. Sneaky and Mother Wolf were still 
sleeping, snoring away so that the den was 
filled with queer echoes. But if the par- 
ents were asleep, the three little Wolf cubs 
were wide awake. They were rolling and 
tumbling over each other, pulling and haul- 
ing each other’s tails, and pretending to bite 
and scratch. Before Washer realized it he 
was being hugged and squeazed and jerked 


20 


Washer the Raccoon 


around as if he was a baby wolf, and not a 
baby Raccoon. 

Of course, his first idea was to snap and 
bite at the cubs, but on second thought he 
decided, not to. If he hurt one of them 
Sneaky or Mother Wolf would pounce upon 
him and kill him in a flash. No, he had to 
play carefully with his bed-fellows. 

They were soft, warm little bodies rolling 
all over him, and they never scratched or bit, 
but merely pretended to. Washer took care 
that he was as gentle, and pretty soon he was 
so absorbed in the play that he forgot they 
were his enemies. 

Suddenly he looked up, and saw Mother 
Wolf standing over him. She had been 
watching him for some time. Fearful lest 
she had come to kill him, he doubled up in 
a ball and began to shake and tremble. From 
another corner, Sneaky yawned and came 
forth to look at the cubs. Mother Wolf 
turned to him. 

“He’s very playful,” she said. “I don’t 
think I’ll kill him today. You must go out 
and get me something else to eat.” 

Sneaky growled his disapproval, but 
obeyed, and the minute he was gone Washer 
felt all his fear vanish. What happened in 
the cave next will appear in the following 
story. 


STORY THREE 

MOTHER WOLF TAKES A HAND 

Washer was very lonely without his mother 
or brothers, and very homesick; but the little 
wolves were so playful they gave him little 
time to think of his worry. Whenever he 
curled up in a corner to mope and sigh, one 
of the cubs was sure to creep up behind and 
roll all over him. Sometimes they got so 
mixed up that it was difficult for Mother 
Wolf to tell her own children from the rac- 
coon. 

Meanwhile, Sneaky had been out hunting, 
and returned with food for his family. He 
flung it to the little cubs, and said: 

“Eat, little ones, and may it make you 
strong and stout of heart like your father!” 

He gave none to Washer, but Mother Wolf 
stepped in and divided the food evenly. 
“Here, Little Stranger of the woods, you 
must eat too, or you’ll grow thin and die.” 

Sneaky did not like this, and displayed his 
sharp, cruel teeth. “Why should a stranger 
rob my children of their food?” he asked. “I 
do not hunt for another’s brat.” 

“If he doesn’t eat,” replied Mother Wolf, 


21 


22 


Washer the Raccoon 


smiling, “How can he grow fat? Our chil- 
dren must have their food rich and juicy.” 

Sneaky grinned at this retort, for it was 
quite true that all wolves liked fat little ani- 
mals. It made the meat so much more de- 
licious. He was content to hunt food for 
Washer if it fattened him up for the cubs. 

Every day when he returned to his den, 
he would ask: “Isn’t the Little Stranger fat 
enough to kill today?” 

And always Mother Wolf would reply: 
“Not today. We must wait another day.” 

Of course, all this conversation worried 
and frightened Washer, for he knew that in 
a short time he would be killed to make food 
for his playmates. It sickened and terrified 
him so that he finally decided to make the 
effort to escape from the cave. He had been 
so gentle, and appeared so contented, that he 
was given more liberty each day. When the 
cubs played in front of the cave, Washer was 
permitted to go there with them. 

This gave him an idea. One day when 
Sneaky was away in the woods hunting, and 
Mother Wolf was sleeping in front of the 
cave, Washer suggested to the cubs that they 
play hide and seek in the bushes. This was 
great sport, and they began scampering 
around behind the bushes to hide. 

When it came Washer’s turn to hide, he ran 


Mother Wolf Takes a Hand 


23 


further away from the mouth of the cave than 
at any time before. He looked around him, 
and saw that a deep ravine was just beyond 
his hiding place. 

“Now is my chance,” he said to himself. 
“If I can escape into that ravine, they’ll never 
catch me. I can hide until night, and then 
journey far into the woods.” 

He had no sooner decided upon this than 
he began scampering for the edge of the 
ravine. If he once reached the edge of the 
cliff, he could roll down it, and then hide at 
the bottom until dark. 

He could hear the cubs calling him, but he 
paid no attention to them. Liberty was ahead, 
and he ran with all his might. His legs were 
short and weak, and he could not make as 
good time as he wished. He stumbled once 
or twice and rolled over and over. But he 
was on his feet again, running for dear life, 
before you could count ten. 

Tired and panting, he finally reached the 
edge of the ravine. When he looked down 
it, he was a little frightened. It was terribly 
steep and the bottom a long way off. 

“I wonder if it will hurt me,” he murmured 
aloud. “I might run around it, and not fall 
in it.” 

Just when he had made up his mind to do 
this there was a noise in the bushes behind 


24 


Washer the Raccoon 


him, and through the air came Mother Wolf, 
loping along at a tremendous speed. Washer 
ducked his head, and tried to hide, but 
Mother Wolf had seen him. A big paw came 
down on his back and flattened him to the 
earth. 

“Where are you going, Little Stranger ?” 
the Wolf asked. “Why are you running away 
from us?” 

Now Washer’s first thought was to deny 
that he was running away, but he knew that 
it was useless to try to deceive Mother Wolf. 
He realized now that she had been watching 
him out of the corners of her eyes all the time. 
She had not been asleep at all. So Washer 
decided to tell the truth. 

“I didn’t want to be killed,” he said. “I’m 
growing fatter every day, and soon you will 
kill me for your children. O Mother Wolf, 
do you know how it feels to be killed?” 

“No, I don’t suppose I do,” was the reply. 
“I’ve never been killed.” 

“Then let me tell you it’s worse than any- 
thing you can dream of,” panted Washer. 

“How do you know, Little Stranger?” 
Mother Wolf smiled as she asked this. 
“You’ve never been killed.” 

“No, but can’t you imagine how it would 
feel?” 


Mother Wolf Takes a Hand 


25 


“Imagine! What is that? I never heard 
of such a thing.” 

“Why — imagination is something that helps 
you to feel just as if the real thing was hap- 
pening.” 

Mother Wolf released Washer and let him 
sit up again. She squatted down before him 
and looked into his eyes. 

“I don’t believe wolves have what you call 
imagination,” she replied. “No, I’m sure 
they don’t. Tell me more what it means.” 

Washer was a very young little Raccoon to 
be instructing a full-grown wolf, but all of 
his family had been born with imagination. 
He could remember how he and his brothers 
had often listened to the storms raging 
through the woods and had tried to imagine 
how it would feel without any home to pro- 
tect them. They had shuddered at the thought 
and crept closer together in their nest. But it 
was very difficult to tell in words just what 
imagination was. 

“Why, there isn’t much more to tell,” he 
replied hesitatingly. “It’s something you have 
to feel. Have you ever been hurt, Mother 
Wolf?” 

“Yes, I burnt my front paw once in a fire 
that campers had left in the woods.” 

“And it hurt terribly, didn’t it?” 

Mother Wolf winced and nodded. 


26 


Washer the Raccoon 


“Then,” added Washer triumphantly, “if 
you can feel it now you have imagination. 
You don’t really feel it now, but you imagine 
how it felt.” 

“Yes,” replied Mother Wolf, “but that’s 
something I did feel once. But I was never 
killed. So how can I imagine how it would 
feel to be killed?” 

“Just think of your burnt foot, and then 
think of being burnt all over. You would 
know then how it would feel to be killed. Oh, 
it’s terrible!” 

Mother Wolf was quiet for a long time, 
and then she looked not unkindly at Washer. 
“Was that why you were running away?” she 
asked finally. 

“Yes, I didn’t want to be killed.” 

“Then listen, Little Stranger,” she said. 
“You’re not going to be killed. I’m going 
to keep you to play with my little ones, and 
to teach them things that no wolf can teach 
them. I will adopt you, and make you one 
of my own children. No harm will ever 
come to you. Now come back home with me.” 

Washer’s heart gave a great bound of re- 
lief, and he licked the paw near him. He 
trotted back to the den by the side of Mother 
Wolf happy and contented; but in the next 
story you will hear what Sneaky thought of 
this new arrangement. 


STORY FOUR 

MOTHER WOLF SAVES WASHER'S LIFE 

Sneaky came home early that day, bringing 
with him a good size fox which he displayed 
to his young cubs with much satisfaction. 
Licking his chops and puffing out his cheeks 
with pride, he said: 

“See what a great hunter I am! Nothing 
escapes me! I risk my life for your sakes, 
and you must learn to be as good hunters 
when you grow up.” 

Mother Wolf smiled a little queerly at the 
boast of her mate, and when he was through 
she asked: 

“Did you have to risk your life to catch 
Mr. Fox?” 

Sneaky turned and looked a little sheepish, 
and answered in a voice of wounded pride: 
“Yes, I nearly slipped off the rock into the 
water trying to bring him down. It was a 
great jump I made. It must have been nearly 
as long as the river is wide.” 

“I know you’re a great jumper,” replied 
Mother Wolf, still smiling. “The greatest 
jump I ever saw you make was when Loup 


28 Washer the Raccoon 

the Lynx pursued you in the timber below 
the falls.” 

Now reference to this adventure always 
angered Sneaky, for he had not come out of 
it with much glory. He had quarreled with 
Loup over a prize, and in the end they had 
snarled and snapped at each other like two 
wild cats. Finally, Loup had lost his temper 
and sprang at Sneaky’s throat, who avoided 
it by a hair’s breadth, and if there hadn’t been 
a wide chasm near the wolf might have lost 
his life. With a tremendous spring he had 
cleared the chasm where he could defy the 
Lynx at a safe distance. 

“My dear,” Sneaky began, scowling at his 
mate, “I took that jump just to show Loup 
what I could do. If he had followed me, I 
surely would have killed him.” 

Mother Wolf laughed and cuddled up to 
one of her little ones. “I know, Sneaky, you’re 
very brave,” she said. 

That was all, but the way she said it an- 
gered Sneaky. It was just as if she had said, 
“Oh, yes, you’re very brave when there’s no 
danger around.” 

Sneaky switched his tail angrily, and bared 
his white teeth. Just then he might have done 
something courageous if there had been a 
chance, for he was very sore and disturbed 
that Mother Wolf should speak of his bravery 


Mother Wolf Saves Washer’s Life 29 


in such a flippant way before his children. 

Suddenly he caught sight of Washer, who 
had been looking and listening in silence. His 
eyes gleamed with a yellow light. 

“Ah!” he said, stretching out a paw and 
grasping Washer. “Our Little Stranger is 
very fat. I think now I’ll kill him. Yes, he’s 
very fat,” he added, as he felt of Washer’s 
ribs. 

Washer was so startled and frightened by 
this sudden attack that he began squealing and 
panting for breath. But the louder he cried 
the more it pleased Sneaky. The heavy paw 
pressing down upon his back threatened to 
break his spine. 

Mother Wolf suddenly sprang to Washer’s 
rescue. Her own eyes showed baleful yellow, 
and her teeth, fully as white and long as 
Sneaky’s, were bared to the gums. 

“Take your paw off!” she said sharply. 
“How dare you act like that? If you touch 
one of my children again you’ll go forth to 
hunt and never return.” 

“One of your children!” exclaimed Sneaky. 
“You call this little brat one of your chil- 
dren!” 

“Yes, I have adopted him, and I shall raise 
him to hunt with the pack. You cannot hurt 
him I” 

Sneaky was too surprised at first to speak, 


30 


Vaster the Raccoon 


but after a long pause he recovered and laid 
his head back on his shoulders while a most 
startling yowl escaped from his throat. It 
was such a blood-curdling yelp that Washer 
cringed and cowered in fear. But it was not 
a battle cry; it was simply Sneaky’s way of 
expressing his merriment. Mother Wolf 
watched him in silence until he stopped. 

“I cannot hurt him!” Sneaky repeated. “My 
dear, you forget he belongs to me. I caught 
him, and to me he belongs. Isn’t that the law 
of the pack? Who shall deny me what be- 
longs to me?” 

“You forget another law of the pack,” 
snapped Mother Wolf. “Half of the hunt 
belongs to me and the children. Isn’t that the 
law?” 

“Oh, yes, so it is,” smiled Sneaky. “Half 
belongs to my family, and I shall divide with 
them. Which half do you want, my dear?” 

There was a sinister look in the yellow eyes. 
Mother Wolf read his intentions, and so did 
Washer. Sneaky intended to divide the Rac- 
coon in two equal halves. How could he do 
that without killing him?” 

Mother Wolf seemed puzzled for an in- 
stant, for she could not break the law of the 
pack, not even to save Washer from death. 
But an idea came to her finally, and the light 
of hope returned to her eyes. 


Mother Wolf Saves Washer’s Life SI 


“You cannot divide him until I’m ready, 
Sneaky,” she added. “That also is a law of 
the pack. And I’m not a bit hungry now. 
I’ve really eaten more than is good for me. 
You must save the Little Stranger until I’m 
ready to eat my half.” 

Sneaky was greatly chagrined and angered 
by Mother Wolf’s words, for he too had to 
obey the law of the pack, and he knew that 
what his mate had said was true. He could 
not kill Washer without the consent of 
Mother Wolf, and right down in his heart he 
knew that she would never give that consent. 
But if there was a law against killing Washer 
at once there was none against tormenting 
him. Sneaky was naturally cruel, and the 
thought that he could even in this way made 
his eyes light up suddenly. 

“I’ll wait, my dear, until you are ready to 
eat your half,” he said in a fawning voice. 
“The fact is I’ve eaten rather heartily myself 
today, too, and we have this fox for our sup- 
per. I’ll keep the little brat until he’s needed. 
Now go back to your corner!” 

With that he gave Washer a cuff with his 
paw that sent him spinning across the cave. 

“'Why did you do that?” snarled Mother 
Wolf, springing before Sneaky. 

“I wanted to prepare him for what’s com- 


32 


Washer the Raccoon 


ing,” drawled Sneaky. “If we harden and 
toughen him he won’t mind so much being 
eaten.” 

He grinned at this remark, and made an- 
other dive for Washer; but this time the little 
raccoon escaped and burrowed under the wolf 
cubs to hide. 

“Come out of that!” snapped Sneaky. 

He began pawing and scratching to get at 
Washer when something happened that start- 
led every one in the cave. There was a swift 
thud and then a snapping of sharp teeth. A 
howl of pain escaped Sneaky’s throat, follow- 
ed by a whimpering cry of fear. 

Mother Wolf had sprang at him and caught 
him by the scruff of the neck with her power- 
ful jaws, and was shaking him much as a dog 
would shake a rat. Her teeth were closed so 
tight that Sneaky couldn’t shake them loose. 
Across the den Mother Wolf jerked him, 
snapping and snarling and biting until poor 
Sneaky was terrified. Near the entrance she 
gave him an extra bite with her sharp teeth, 
and said: 

“Now go out and hunt for the family, and 
don’t come home again until you can behave 
yourself. I won’t have you spoiling the tem- 
pers of my children. Away with youl” 

And Sneaky cowed and frightened trotted 



Across the den Mother Wolf jerked ftm 













































































































































































Mother Wolf Saves Washer’s Life 33 


away, while Mother Wolf returned to the 
den to calm the fears of her little ones. The 
next story will tell of how Washer was 
brought up by the Wolves. 



STORY FIVE 

SNEAKY VISITS BLACK WOLF 

Washer was perfectly safe in the den of 
wolves after that. Sneaky did not return for 
a long time, and when he did appear he was 
so meek and crestfallen that he hardly dared 
to say a word. Mother Wolf lorded it over 
him, and made him obey her every wish. She 
even made him take Washer and the cubs 
outside to watch them play in front of the 
cave while she took a rest. 

Washer was a little alarmed at first, but 
Sneaky never so much as raised a paw to hurt 
him. He was in deadly fear of Mother Wolf. 

After a while Washer lost all of his natural 
fear of being killed, and life became very dif- 
ferent to him in the den. It was a pleasant 
enough home after all, and he was so grate- 
ful to Mother Wolf that he couldn’t do 
enough to please her. She smiled at him 
when he ran to do little errands for her, and 
patted him on his back. He grew more at- 
tentive to her than were her own children. 

The cubs were growing rapidly, and Wash- 
er soon saw they would be much bigger and 
stronger than he in time; but they looked up- 


35 


36 


Washer the Raccoon 


on him as one of the family, and always 
treated him in a friendly way. They began 
calling him Little Brother, and Mother Wolf 
in time adopted this name. It was much bet- 
ter than Little Stranger, for Washer was no 
longer a stranger, and it seemed absurd to call 
him that. 

Sneaky at first refused to use that name, 
and when alone with the raccoon he would 
often call him “Brat” or “Scamp.” Washer 
didn’t mind this, for he knew Sneaky didn’t 
dare abuse him. 

In time the cubs grew so strong and active 
that they had to spend most of their time out 
of doors. They trotted around in the bushes, 
exploring the woods further and further 
away from home. Sneaky and Mother Wolf 
watched them with admiring eyes, and en- 
couraged them in this. 

“They will have to learn to hunt for them- 
selves some day,” Mother Wolf said, “and I 
hope they’ll be good hunters.” 

“If they take after their father they cer- 
tainly will be,” replied Sneaky, licking his 
chops with satisfaction. 

Mother Wolf did not notice this remark, 
for she was looking at Washer. “I wonder 
what kind of a hunter Little Brother will be,” 


Sneaky Visits Black Wolf 


37 


she added. “Will he hunt like a Wolf or — 
or like a Raccoon?” 

“Like a Raccoon,” replied Sneaky. “Can 
a Wolf change his nature, or a Raccoon be 
other than a Raccoon?” 

Mother Wolf could not deny the truth of 
Sneaky’s remarks, and she sighed. Somehow 
she had grown greatly attached to Little 
Brother, and she wanted him to grow up and 
be like her own children. 

“He must be taught to hunt with the pack,” 
she said suddenly. “He will learn their ways, 
and do as they do. Yes, we must take him to 
the pack and introduce him.” 

Now this seemed to be a good time for 
Sneaky to get even with Mother Wolf for 
thwarting him in bringing up Washer. What 
would the others of the pack say when she 
brought a Raccoon in place of a Wolf to be 
entered as a member? He smiled in his su- 
perior sort of way, and nodded his head. 

“I think, my dear,” he said, grinning, 
“you’d better leave Little Brother home when 
we take our children to the pack. They’d 
laugh at you, and maybe kill Little Brother.” 

Mother Wolf’s eyes looked a little troubled. 
She hadn’t foreseen this difficulty, and it 
might be true that the other wolves would 
refuse to receive Little Brother as a member. 


38 


Washer the Raccoon 


But she had grown so fond of Washer that 
she was ready to stand up for him to the end. 

“If they won’t receive him,” she replied, 
“they’ll never get my children. I’ll not let 
them join the pack.” 

Sneaky was immediately angered by this 
threat, and in spite of his fear of Mother 
Wolf he jumped to his feet and let out a 
growl. “You don’t dare do that!” he cried. 
“Our children must join the pack, and you 
can’t deny them. I’ll see that they join. I’ll 
take them myself.” 

“Don’t get excited, Sneaky,” interrupted 
his mate. “You can’t take them unless I con- 
sent.” 

This also was a law of the pack, and Sneaky 
was angrier than ever. “Why do you always 
want to oppose me?” he cried. “The children 
are as dear to me as they are to you, and I 
must have something to say about their bring- 
ing up. They cannot hunt alone in the woods. 
If you don’t let them join I’ll see Black Wolf, 
our leader. Yes, I’ll see him at once, and lay 
the whole matter before him.” 

Mother Wolf was a little troubled at this, 
ancl she tried to dissuade him. “Wait until 
it’s time to take them to the pack, Sneaky,” she 
said in a friendly way. “I wouldn’t trouble 


Sneaky Visits Black Wolf 39 

Black Wolf now. He’s very busy, you 
know.” 

“No,” growled Sneaky stubbornly, “I’ll see 
him at once. I’ve given in to you in every- 
thing, but now it’s my turn to rule. I’ll go 
to Black Wolf tonight.” 

Sneaky could be very stubborn if he made 
up his mind, and Mother Wolf saw that he 
was determined now to appeal to the leader 
of the pack over her head. She sighed, but 
pretended not to care. 

“All right, Sneaky,” she replied meekly, 
“but see that you tell the truth, and nothing 
but the truth.” 

“Trust me for that,” was the grinning reply. 

And that very night Sneaky trotted away 
through the dark woods to where Black Wolf 
lived in a den by himself. Black Wolf was 
not only the leader of the pack, but a big 
powerful creature with hair so long and 
shaggy that no animal who tried to kill him 
could bite through it to reach his flesh. He 
had eyes that could see through the blackest 
night, and muscles that were like steel. 

He received Sneaky with a growl of dis- 
content, for he had traveled far that day to 
settle another family dispute among his peo- 
ple, and he was very tired and drowsy. 

“What do you want, Sneaky?” he demand- 


40 


Washer the Raccoon 


ed fiercely. “Can’t you see I’m tired and 
sleepy?” 

“Yes, Black Wolf, I know you’ve earned a 
good night’s rest, but I bring a gift to you,” 
replied Sneaky, laying before the leader the 
leg of a lamb he had stolen from a farm-house 
on his way. 

“Thanks,” replied Black Wolf, sniffing to 
see if it was fresh meat. “I’ll eat it in the 
morning.” 

He closed his eyes, and soon would have 
been snoring if Sneaky hadn’t continued. “I 
came to see you for another reason,” he added. 
“I want to lay a question before you. Is it 
against the law of the pack to admit a Rac- 
coon as a member?” 

Black Wolf opened one eye, and said cross- 
ly: “Why do you want to bother me with 
such a foolish question, Sneaky! I’m in no 
mood for joking.” 

“This is no joke, Black Wolf. It’s very 
serious. My mate has brought up a Raccoon 
as one of her children, and now she intends 
to bring him to the pack for admission. What 
message shall I carry back to her?” 

Black Wolf snorted, and raised his head 
long enough to think. Then, in a loud voice 
he added: “Go back and tell her that if she 
brings a Raccoon to the pack we’ll pounce 


Sneaky Visits Black Wolf 


41 


upon him and eat him alive. Go and tell her 
that I, Black Wolf, leader of the pack, has 
given his word.” 

“Thank you,” replied Sneaky, bowing low, 
and crawling out of the den. He had obtained 
just the message he wanted, and he couldn’t 
hurry fast enough to deliver it to Mother 
Wolf. In the next story we will see what 
Mother Wolf thought of it. 



STORY SIX 

MOTHER WOLF DECIDES TO ADOPT WASHER 

Sneaky returned home and entered the den 
with every appearance of being greatly 
pleased with himself. He licked his chops, 
smiled at the cubs, and said a pleasant word of 
of greeting to Mother Wolf. Indeed, he was 
so polite and agreeable that Washer wondered 
if something had happened to change his dis- 
position for good; but Mother Wolf was not 
at all deceived. She understood that Sneaky 
had some important news on his mind that he 
was anxious to get off. 

After a while, when the little ones were out- 
side of the den playing, she humored him with 
a smile, and said: “Why don’t you tell me 
now, Sneaky? You’ve been dying to get it off 
your mind. Now’s a good time.” 

“What do you mean my dear?” he asked, 
opening one eye, and looking as surprised and 
innocent as a baby. 

“Don’t put on that innocent air,” protested 
his mate impatiently. “I’ve lived long 
enough with you to know when important 
news is bothering you. Now out with it!” 

Sneaky yawned dreadfully long, and 


43 


44 


Washer the Raccoon 


stretched his limbs in the most deliberate 
manner. He knew that Mother Wolf was as 
impatient to hear the news as he was to tell 
it. So he did not propose to humor her right 
away. 

“You surprise me, my dear,” he said finally. 
“What news do you speak of? I’m not a car- 
rier of tales like Grayback the Weasel or Mr. 
Fox. I wouldn’t stoop to such things.” 

Mother Wolf laughed so hard that she 
had to hold her sides with both front paws. 
There was no way to tease Sneaky equal to 
that of laughing at his serious remarks. In a 
few minutes his face grew red and his ears 
lay back, and all the innocent expression van- 
ished from his eyes. 

“I don’t see anything to laugh at,” he 
growled. “Why don’t you tell me what it is, 
and I’ll join you if it’s worth a laugh. It’s 
very ill-mannered of any one to laugh alone in 
company!” 

“Yes, I suppose it is,” replied Mother- 
Wolf, wiping her eyes. “But” — regarding 
him slyly out of the corner of her eyes — “I 
didn’t know you were company, Sneaky. Are 
you?” 

“Never mind such foolish questions!” was 
the quick retort. “What were you laughing 
at — me?” 


Mother Wolf Decides to Adopt Washer 45 

“Why, no, Sneaky, not at you. I wouldn’t 
do such a thing. But I was laughing at what 
you had on your mind.” 

“What had I on my mind?” 

“The news that Black Wolf sent to me.” 

Sneaky was a little taken back by this re- 
mark, for he hadn’t mentioned any message 
from Black Wolf. 

“How do you know I’ve been to see Black 
Wolf?” he asked after a pause. 

“You said you we’re going. Didn’t you ex- 
pect me to believe you? Surely you haven’t 
begun fibbing to me at your time of life, have 
you, Sneaky?” 

“No, of course not,” he stammered. “I 
didn’t mean that. Yes, I’ve been to see Black 
Wolf.” 

“And he sent a message with you for me?” 

“Well, now that you speak of it I remem- 
ber he did,” replied Sneaky, squatting down 
on his haunches. 

“Then why didn’t you say so at first?” 
snapped Mother Wolf. “Why did you pre- 
tend surprise, and try to look so innocent? I 
knew all the time you had a message for me, 
and it was because you were trying so hard to 
look innocent that made me laugh. Sneaky, 
you’re not a good actor. I wouldn’t try it 
again if I were you.” 


40 


Washer the Raccoon 


His pride was wounded at this denial of all 
talent for acting, and Sneaky dropped his 
nose down between his paws and looked very 
crestfallen. “I suppose,” he grumbled, “you 
think you know so much you could tell me 
what Black Wolf’s message is.” 

Mother Wolf paused before him and looked 
silently into his eyes before she spoke again. 
Then she nodded her head. “I think I could 
almost guess it.” 

“Then it isn’t necessary for me to tell you,” 
replied Sneaky, thinking he had cornered her 
this time. 

“Black Wolf was very much surprised and 
disgusted when you told him I was to bring 
Little Brother into the pack,” she went on, 
ignoring his remark, “and of course you 
didn’t help matters any by telling my side of 
the story. You didn’t tell Black Wolf how I 
had brought Little Brother up as my own 
child until I loved him as much as any of the 
cubs. You didn’t tell him that from the first 
you wanted to kill him, and that you were 
anxious to get rid of him, and turn him loose 
in the woods so the whole pack could hunt 
him. You didn’t tell him that he had been 
with us for so long that he was more Wolf 
than Raccoon, and that his own people would 
not accept him, and if we abandoned him he 


Mother Wolf Decides to Adopt Washer 47 

would be without any family or friends. Oh, 
no you didn’t explain any of these things to 
Black Wolf!” 

“But, my dear, how could you expect me in 
a few minutes to tell all that?” protested 
Sneaky. “Black Wolf was very tired and surly, 
and he didn’t want to talk to me at all. If I 
hadn’t taken a present to him he would have 
turned me out without listening.” 

Mother Wolf nodded. “I can quite under- 
stand that, Sneaky. He’s bothered to death by 
settling the quarrels of the pack. It’s not all 
pleasure in being a leader.” 

“I should think not. It’s a terribly respons- 
ible position, and I know if I were leader I’d 
have my time well occupied.” 

“Yes, I think you would. You wouldn’t 
have time to be interfering with home matters 
so much. It must be great to be the mate of 
the leader of the pack.” 

Sneaky raised his head and flashed an angry 
glance at Mother Wolf, for her words recalled 
something unpleasant to the memory. When a 
young Wolf, with eyes always smiling and 
laughing, and hair long and curly as the silk 
of the corn tassel, Mother Wolf was the envy 
of every hunter of the pack, and Black Wolf 
had cast envious eyes upon her before he had 
been chosen leader. Sneaky recalled also that 


48 


Washer the Raccoon 


he had deceived Black Wolf by telling him 
one day that Mother Wolf had promised to be 
his mate, although no such promise had then 
been made. He wondered if Mother Wolf 
had ever found out his little deception, and if 
Black Wolf suspected anything. This doubt 
had given him many unpleasant moments. 

His wandering thoughts were suddnely re- 
called to the present by Mother Wolf. “Black 
Wolf told you,” she said quietly, “that if I 
brought Little Brother to the pack council 
he’d refuse to receive him as a member. Isn’t 
that what he said?” 

“Yes,” admited Sneaky, “and he said some- 
thing more. If you bring Little Brother be- 
fore him, he’ll order the whole pack to pounce 
on him and kill him.” 

“He said that!” exclaimed Mother Wolf in 
alarm. “Black Wolf sent that message to 
me. 

“Yes,” replied Sneaky, smiling. “Now if 
you love Little Brother you will keep him 
away from the pack council. You’d better 
turn him loose and let him return to his own 
people.” 

Mother Wolf was silent a moment. Then 
she raised her head, and said defiantly: “No, 
I’ll never do that. His own people would re- 
ject him. I’ve brought him up, and I’ll al- 


Mother Wolf Decides to Adopt Washer 49 

ways be a mother to him unless he turns 
against me, and even then I shall continue to 
love him.” 

She stopped before adding her final chal- 
lenge. “And, listen, Sneaky, I shall take him 
before the pack council, and if Black Wolf 
orders the pack to pounce on him they’ll have 
to fight me first.” 

Sneaky was so troubled by this that he had 
nothing to say. In the next story Washer 
shows the cubs a trick. 



STORY SEVEN 

WASHER LEARNS HE IS NOT A WOLF 

Washer the Raccoon had been hunting with 
his Wolf brothers in the woods around their 
cave den. This was a part of their education. 
Mother Wolf would take them for a walk 
some distance from the cave, and teach them 
to pick up the scent of other animals on the 
wind. Sometimes it would be Browny the 
Muskrat or Sleepy the Opossum and again 
that of White Tail the Deer or Puma the 
Mountain Lion who had wandered away from 
their natural haunts. 

Whatever animal it was they scented, 
Mother Wolf would caution them to follow it 
carefully, sneaking through the bushes with 
padded feet so as not to break a twig. She 
herself would remain behind so that all the re- 
sponsibility of the hunt would be on her 
children. 

In the early days of these lessons, Washer 
was the quickest to learn, and the quickest to 
follow the scent. He was older than his Wolf 
Brothers, and this accounted for his quickness. 
He could run faster than any of them, al- 
though his legs were shorter, and could climb 


51 


52 


Washer the Raccoon 


up embankments and rocks without losing his 
foothold. 

“Well done, Little Brother,” Mother Wolf 
would say proudly when he had out-distanced 
all his brothers. “Some day you will be a 
mighty hunter. Who knows but you may be 
leader of the pack yet.” 

Now Mother Wolf loved the stray little 
orphan so much that she was blind to many 
things that she should have thought of. For 
one thing no raccoon was ever as large as a 
wolf, as strong, nor as fleet of foot. It was 
because Washer had the start in life that he 
seemed bigger and quicker of mind than her 
own children. 

As the days and weeks passed, the Wolf 
cubs grew amazingly. They caught up to 
Washer, and then surpassed him in size. Their 
legs grew long and slender, and one day in a 
race Washer was left behind in spite of all 
that he could do. It was the first race with 
the cubs he had ever lost. 

“Hi! What’s the matter, Little Brother?” 
the cubs called to him. “You’re lazy today!” 

“Yes, maybe I am,” replied Washer, but he 
had an uneasy feeling that it was something 
more than laziness. His shorter legs could go 
as fast as his brother’s, but they could not cover 
so much ground. 


Washer Learns He is Not a Wolf 53 


The next day it was the same. They had 
all started on a scamper for the brook, with 
Washer in the lead at the beginning, but long 
before they reached the water the raccoon was 
behind. 

“Lazy again, Little Brother!” they laughed 
when he came up to them. 

“No, I couldn’t run any faster,” Washer 
replied truthfully. “You’ve got longer legs 
than mine, and I can’t keep up with you.” 

“So they are longer,” replied the cubs, 
looking at their own long legs. 

“And you have stronger teeth and jaws 
than I have,” continued Washer. “You grow 
much faster. I don’t seem to grow at all any 
more.” 

“Oh, your time will come,” they answered, 
not wishing to offend him. 

They continued to play together as for- 
merly, but Washer always had to be given a 
head start in a race. Then one day another 
thing surprised them. They were tearing at 
their food when Washer found that he could 
no longer hold his own in this battle. The 
cubs had more powerful jaws than he, and 
they jerked the food away from him and gob- 
bled it up. 

“I didn’t get half my share,” Washer 
grumbled. 


54 


Washer the Raccoon 


“Why not? Can’t you help yourself?” 

Washer was silent. The truth was begin- 
ning to dawn upon him that he was different 
from his brothers. They were fleeter of foot 
and stronger of jaws. They could also jump 
longer distances, taking gullies and ravines in 
leaps that carried them clear across. Washer 
had to run around or climb down and then 
up the ravines. 

“Little Brother, you can’t keep up with us 
any more,” the cubs said one day more in 
sadness than in boastfulness. “How’ll you 
join the hunt with us when we become mem- 
bers of the pack?” 

“Listen, brothers,” Washer said, “I cannot 
run as fast as you, nor fight as fiercely for my 
food, but there is one thing I can do that 
will surprise you. I can go where none of 
you can follow.” 

They laughed at this challenge, and told 
him to show them the trick. “We’ll follow 
you,” they said. “You can’t lose us.” 

“All right! Follow me!” 

Washer had found out that his sharp little 
claws were perfectly adapted to tree climb- 
ing, and that his Wolf brothers could not get 
up a tree higher than the lowest branches 
which they might reach by jumping. He had 


Washer Learns He is Not a Wolf 55 

tried climbing trees and found that it came 
as easy to him as running. 

There was a big cedar tree near the brook, 
and after looking up it he started to climb the 
trunk. It was so easy for him that he went 
up it almost as quickly as Bobby Gray 
Squirrel could. His Wolf brothers sat down 
on their haunches in a circle around the tree 
and watched him in amazement. 

Washer reached the first branches, and ran 
out on one big one. “Look out, Little Brother, 
or you’ll fall! they shouted. “Be careful!” 

Washer smiled and showed his teeth. “Oh, 
this is nothing! I’ll climb to the top!” 

He ran back to the trunk, and began climb- 
ing higher. Up and up he went until his 
little body was lost among the foliage. 

“He’s lost!” exclaimed the Wolf cubs be- 
low. “Something’s happened to him! I can’t 
see him!” 

But Washer, having reached the top-most 
branch of the tree, bit off a twig and threw it 
down at them. “Here I am!” he cried. “Now 
follow me up here!” 

The Wolf cubs immediately accepted the 
challenge. They started for the tree and be- 
gan pawing at it. They jumped and leaped 
up the trunk, and tried in every way to climb 
it. Their failure was so ludicrous that 


56 


Washer the Raccoon 


Washer laughed heartily, encouraging them 
with loud words. 

But no wolf can climb a tree, and the cubs 
soon stopped their efforts. Once more they 
squatted around in a circle and looked up at 
Washer. 

“Will you teach me to climb ?” asked one 
after another. 

Washer considered a moment, and then 
said: “It’s something that can’t be taught 
brothers. If I could I would, but no wolf can 
ever climb a tree.” 

They were so surprised and amazed at the 
exploit of their Little Brother in climbing a 
tree that they surrounded him all the way 
home and pestered him with all sorts of ques- 
tions. When they reached the den they de- 
manded of Mother Wolf the reason why they 
could not climb a tree like Little Brother. 
Mother Wolf was both sad and pleased. 

“I can’t tell you,” she replied, “why a wolf 
cannot climb a tree. But he simply can’t any 
more than he can fly like a bird. Little 
Brother is a Raccoon, you know, and — ” 

“What’s a Raccoon? Isn’t he a wolf?” 

“No, dears, Little Brother isn’t a wolf.” 

All the cubs looked in surprise at Washer. 
He was not like them. He wasn’t a Wolf. In 


Washer Learns He is Not a Wolf 57 

the next story Washer finds one of his people 
treed by the cubs. 





STORY EIGHT 

THE CUBS TREE A STRANGER 

Thereafter there was a different feeling be- 
tween the Wolf cubs and Washer the Rac- 
coon. The former could not help feeling that 
Washer was an outsider, and while they tried 
to conceal their feelings they were not entirely 
successful. He was not only not their real 
brother, but he was a different kind of an ani- 
mal — not a wolf at all. 

One day when they were down by the brook, 
Washer plucked a rich, juicy root to eat, for 
there had not been enough meat to go around 
that day, and Washer was hungry. 

“What are you going to do with that, Little 
Brother?” one of the cubs asked, watching 
him carry the root away in his mouth. 

“Why, eat it, of course,” was the reply. 

“What a funny thing to eat! I never ate a 
root before.” 

It was a fact that wolves never liked roots 
or leaves, while raccoons frequenlty eat both. 
Washer felt a little embarrassed, but he car- 
ried the root to the brook and dipped it in. 
The Wolf cubs followed him. 

“What are you doing that for?” added an- 


59 


60 


Washer the Raccoon 


other, as the raccoon continued to dip the root 
in the water. 

“Washing it, of course, before eating it,” 
was the reply. 

Once more there was surprise and curiosity 
on the faces of the cubs. Washer had unin- 
tentionally betrayed a trick of all his ances- 
tors. The raccoons nearly always dipped and 
washed their food in water before eating it. 
It was the most natural thing in the world for 
him to do it, but it was not until he saw the 
look of wonder in the eyes of his playmates 
that he realized this little act indicated once 
more what a wide difference there was be- 
tween them. 

“Do all raccoons wash their food before eat- 
ing it,” continued one of the cubs. 

Washer nodded his head and began daintily 
chewing the soft root. The cubs bit at the 
other end of it, but they saw nothing in it to 
appeal to their taste. 

“What funny creatures raccoons must be, 
Little Brother!” 

Washer was a little annoyed and angered 
by this remark, for he was a raccoon, and he 
wasn’t going to have his people ridiculed. 

“They climb trees,” continued the speak- 
er, “and wash their food before eating it. 
Isn’t it funny, brothers!” 


61 


The Cubs Tree a Stranger 

They all set up a laugh, which increased 
Washer’s anger. “They’re no funnier than 
Wolves,” he blurted out suddenly. “You hunt 
in packs as if afraid, and sneak upon your 
victims instead of fighting them face to face. 
I thing that cowardly. Now raccoons don’t 
do that.” 

“We didn’t mean to offend you, Little 
Brother,” replied the first cub, seeing Wash- 
er’s anger. “Next to being a wolf we’d rather 
be raccoons. Yes, indeed!” 

The others repeated this until Washer felt 
sorry for his show of anger. Still he was quite 
sad, for he began to realize that he could not 
always be with his little brothers. The day 
would come when he would have to leave 
them. They were growing so big and so 
rough in their play that many times he had to 
retire and look on. Then, too, they were be- 
ginning to take long hunting trips through 
the woods, and he could not keep up with 
them. Sneaky in particular took delight in 
running him out of breath, and then laughing 
at him. 

“Listen, Brothers,” he said, turning sor- 
rowfully upon them, “I am a raccoon and you 
are wolves. Some day you will have to hunt 
without me. Then I shall return to my own 
people, for it isn’t right that a raccoon should 


62 


Washer the Raccoon 


live with wolves. But I shall always have a 
tender feeling for you in my heart, and shall 
always remember you.” 

“No we won’t hunt without you,” inter- 
rupted one of the cubs. “You can’t leave us. 
You’re our Little Brother, and you’ll always 
be that!” 

Washer was greatly pleased by this show of 
affection for it made him very sad to think of 
leaving the only home he had lived in since 
a small baby; but right down in his heart he 
knew that he would some day leave them and 
go back to his own people. 

Washer had only a dim remembrance of his 
own real brothers. The accident on the river 
when he was carried oyer the falls seemed so 
long ago that it was more like a dream now 
than anything else. He couldn’t even remem- 
ber what his mother looked like, and as for his 
brothers they were only tiny baby raccoons 
then and now they had grown up he would 
not recognize them. 

A few days after this conversation, the 
Wolf cubs were playing near the brook when 
one of them suddenly raised his nose in the 
air and began sniffing. The others imme- 
diately stopped their play and sniffed the air 
also. 

“What is it?” asked Washer. 


63 


The Cubs Tree a Stranger 

“I smell something good,’’ replied the first 
wolf.. “It’s over this way. 

“Then we’ll go around the other way and 
head him off,” said another cub. 

Washer knew their method of hunting an 
animal they had once winded. They would 
spread out in a wide circle, and creep upon 
him from all directions. Sneaky had taught 
them this trick, and when they hunted to- 
gether in this way it was hard for anything 
to escape them. No matter which way the 
hunted animal went he was pretty sure to run 
into one of the pack. 

Washer had caught the odor on the wind, 
but he was not sure just what kind of an ani- 
mal it came from. The smell seemed famil- 
iar, and yet he could not place it. It annoyed 
and puzzled him. Was his memory growing 
short? 

He decided to follow the cubs in the chase 
and for a time he managed to keep up with 
them; but when they finally caught sight of 
their prey they broke from the cover of the 
bushes and ran in full tilt after him. Washer 
was quickly left behind. 

In a short time he could tell by their howls 
that they had run their victim to earth. They 
were yelping and howling, but not entirely 
with pleasure. 


64 


Washer the Raccoon 


“What’s the matter?” Washer asked him- 
self. “Have they stalked Buster the Bear or 
Loup the Lynx? I must hurry and see.” 

He ran as fast as his short legs would per- 
mit, and in a few minutes he came out into an 
opening in the woods. In the center of this 
was a small tree, around which the Wolf cubs 
were circling wildly, leaping up as high as 
they could every now and then, but always 
falling short of their mark. 

Washer came up, panting and gasping; 
“What is it, Brothers?” he called. “Where 
is it?” 

“Up the tree!” shouted one of the cubs. 
“We can’t reach him, but you can Little 
Brother. You can climb the tree and drive 
him down. Now I know we’ll always need 
you when we go hunting. Hurry up and 
drive him out of the tree!” 

Washer saw a dark, fuzzy ball high among 
the branches of the small tree. He could not 
make it out at first, but there was something 
familiar about it, and the odor! — why, he 
knew that odor! He had always known it! 

But he stopped suddenly and glanced up at 
the pair of frightened eyes looking down at 
the wolves. He gave a gasp and shudder. It 
was a raccoon the cubs had treed — one of his 
own people. How could he betray him to the 





V 


It was a raccoon the curs had treed 























A 




» 






. 









































\ 




■ 








/ 


« 



> 













* 






































65 


The Cubs Tree a Stranger 

greedy cubs, and if he didn’t what would his 
wolf brothers think of him? In the next story 
you will read about what Washer did for the 
raccoon. 





STORY NINE 

WASHER SAVES ONE OF HIS OWN PEOPLE 

When Washer discovered that it was one 
of his own people driven up the tree by the 
wolves, he felt a queer sensation stealing over 
him. For the first time he seemed to realize 
how cruel the Wolf cubs were in their hunt- 
ing, and how terrible the hunted must feel. 
It was almost as if he was up that tree with a 
lot of wolves below howling for his blood. 

Something like anger and disgust for the 
cubs sprang up in his heart. What right had 
they to chase every weaker animal in the 
woods and kill him! Why couldn’t they let 
other animals live in peace in the woods! 

While he sat there thinking of these things, 
the young wolves were leaping up at the treed 
raccoon and howling dismally every time they 
fell short of reaching him. Finally one of 
the cubs turned to Washer. 

“Why don’t you go up the tree and drive 
him down?” he asked. “Hurry up, Little 
Brother, for we’re hungry. Go up and shake 
the branch, and we’ll catch him as he falls.” 

Washer began to tremble, not with fear, but 
because he knew he had to save the raccoon 


67 


68 


Washer the Raccoon 


in some way, and he couldn’t think of any 
trick that would do it. The cubs mistook his 
trembling for fear, and one of them ex- 
claimed : 

“Little Brother’s afraid to go up the tree! 
See, he’s trembling all over!” 

“When was Little Brother afraid before?” 
asked another. “Surely he’s not afraid of that 
animal.” 

Washer saw that they had not recognized 
the animal up the tree as one of his own peo- 
ple. They hardly knew a raccoon from any 
other animal. This fact gave Washer new 
hope. He didn’t want to betray to them his 
feelings. 

“Are you afraid, Little Brother?” added 
another, standing before him. “I don’t be- 
lieve it.” 

“No, I’m not afraid,” replied Washer final- 
ly, recovering from his embarassment. 
“When was I afraid of anything! Have I 
not played and fought with you all, and did 
you ever know me to beg for mercy? Then 
why should I be afraid of that small animal?” 

“I knew it, Little Brother,” replied the last 
cub. “Now you’ll go up the tree and shake 
him down to us.” 

Washer rose to his feet and trotted away 
from the tree. “Come here, Brothers,” ho 


Washer Saves One of His Own People 69 

called, “I want to talk to you, and we must not 
be overheard. Now listen,” he added, “when 
they were at a safe distance from the tree, 
“you’ve heard of Billy Porcupine, haven’t 
you?” 

“Billy Porcupine! Oh, you mean the ani- 
mal with the prickly thorns! Yes, we’ve 
heard of him.” 

Washer nodded his head. “Then you re- 
member that Mother Wolf and Sneaky al- 
ways told you to beware of Billy Porcupine. 
If you didn’t he’d run his thorns in your nose, 
and it would take days and days for the 
wounds to heal up.” 

“Yes, they told us that!” they exclaimed in 
unison. Then in little frightened voices they 
added; “Is that Billy Porcupine up the tree?” 

Washer did not answer directly, but he 
looked very wise. “Now, listen again,” he 
added, “there’s only one thing to do. You 
must run back to the den and tell Mother 
Wolf or Sneaky. They will know what to do. 
I’ll stay here and watch, and if Mother Wolf 
tells me to go up the tree I’ll go even if I get 
stuck full of quills.” 

The cubs were greatly impressed by these 
words, for they had heard many tales of the 
wounds inflicted by Billy Porcupine’s quills, 


70 


Washer the Raccoon 


and they shuddered at the thought of getting 
them in their mouth and nose. 

“I’ll stay here with you, Little Brother,” the 
oldest of the cubs said. “If he comes down 
we’ll corner him and hold him until Mother 
Wolf comes.” 

“No you must go with your brothers,” re- 
plied Washer. “I can watch him alone. I’m 
not afraid of him.” 

“You’re a brave Little Brother!” they ex- 
claimed in a breath. 

Washer urged them to hurry, and after a 
while they decided to race back to the den and 
summon their parents. Washer promised to 
stand guard under the tree until they returned. 

Their great discovery excited the cubs, and 
they were anxious to see how Mother Wolf 
or Sneaky would handle this strange animal 
that went around in the woods armed with 
sharp quills. They disappeared in the bushes, 
each anxious to beat all the others to the cave. 

The moment they had gone, Washer ran 
back to the tree and looked up it. The rac- 
coon was still crouching there in a high 
branch. Washer looked curiously at him, and 
then called : 

“Raccoon! Little Raccoon, come down 
now, and run away. My wolf brothers have 


Washer Saves One of His Own People 71 

gone, but they’ll soon return. Run and hide 
in your hole or find a bigger tree.” 

There was a noise in the branches overhead, 
and the raccoon crawled down a few feet. 
Washer looked at him, and then retreated a 
step or two. It was not a little raccoon, but a 
big one, with sharp claws and fine, white teeth. 
He was so much bigger than Washer that he 
felt a little awe of him. 

“Why do you call the wolves your broth- 
ers?” the raccoon asked. “You’re a raccoon, 
aren’t you? Then the wolves can’t be your 
brothers. They’re the enemies of my people.” 

Washer looked a little embarrassed. “Yes, 
I’m a raccoon,” he replied, “but the wolves 
saved me, and Mother Wolf brought me up as 
one of her own. I’ve always lived with her in 
her den. She’s been kind to me, and I love 
her.” 

The big raccoon showed his teeth and 
crawled down another branch. “You love a 
wolf!” he said angrily. “Then you’re a 
traitor to your own people!” 

Washer was greatly surprised and dis- 
tressed by this remark. “No, I’m not a trait- 
or. Because I love Mother Wolf for what 
she’s done for me isn’t any reason why I 
shouldn’t love my own people.” 

“I hear them coming back!” snapped the 


72 


Washer the Raccoon 


raccoon in the tree. “I must be off or they’ll 
catch me. This tree is too small. I’ll find a 
bigger one.” 

“Yes, do hurry! I hear them howling now. 
They’ll be here soon.” 

The big raccoon dropped to the ground and 
stood by the side of Washer. He was so much 
bigger that Washer felt like a baby alongside 
of him. He was a fierce old creature, too, for 
he kept gnashing his teeth and switching his 
tail. 

“Well, aren’t you coming with me?” he 
asked. “If you know the woods you might 
lead me to a good hiding place.” 

“No, I can’t go with you,” replied Washer 
a little sadly. “I must wait for my brothers 
and Mother Wolf. They’re all the friends I 
have.” 

“The wolves are your friends?” snapped the 
big raccoon. “Then you’re a traitor to your 
people! I believe this is only a trick to de- 
ceive me. I’ll teach you to betray us!” 

Before Washer realized what he meant, the 
big fellow leaped toward him and bit him two 
or three times on the body and front paws. 
Then with a grunt of delight, he ran away and 
disappeared in the woods. Frightened by this 
sudden attack by one of his own people, 
Washer gave a squeal of pain and dropped 


Washer Saves One of His Own People 73 

down on the ground bleeding. Just then the 
wolves broke through the bushes and came 
racing toward the tree, with Sneaky in the 
lead. 

In the next story Washer confesses to 
Mother Wolf, and she decides to take him to 
the council rock to meet Black Wolf. 















































STORY TEN 

MOTHER WOLF LISTENS TO WASHER'S STORY 

Mother Wolf was close behind, but Sneaky 
reached Washer’s side first. There was a sus- 
picious lear on his face, but the sight of the 
blood on the raccoon’s body seemed to puzzle 
him. He stopped and glanced up at the tree. 

“Where’s Billy Porcupine?” he asked. “I 
don’t see him in the tree.” 

“He ran down and escaped,” replied 
Washer. “I couldn’t stop him.” 

Sneaky licked his chops, and added: “Quite 
likely!” He sniffed among the lower branches 
of the tree. “If my nose doesn’t deceive me 
there’s been no porcupine around here. No, 
sir; nothing but raccoons.” 

He turned and smiled at Mother Wolf and 
the youngsters. He felt quite proud of his 
spying quality. “I smell nothing but raccoon 
up that tree,” he added. “Therefore, it was 
a raccoon, and not a porcupine, that you 
treed.” 

“But little brother said it was Billy the 
Porcupine,” interrupted one of the cubs. 

“How’d Little Brother know it was a porc- 


75 


76 


Washer the Raccoon 


upine?” asked Sneaky. “When did you ever 
see one?” 

Now Washer was feeling very miserable, 
first, because his wounds hurt him, and sec- 
ond because one of his own people had turned 
on him and attacked him after he had saved 
his life. So he spoke without thinking. “I 
don’t know,” he stammered. “Maybe I never 
saw one.” 

“Ah! ha!” scoffed Sneaky. “I thought so. 
It was only a trick to deceive us. I see now 
what it means.” 

He turned to the tree again, and looked up 
it, and began sniffing at the trunk and limbs. 
“Nothing but raccoon odor,” he added. “No 
porcupine has been here.” 

“For goodness sake,” interrupted Mother 
Wolf, wiping the blood from Washer’s face, 
“what are you wasting your time about? Why 
don’t you help Little Brother? He’s all 
bloody, and we must help him home.” 

“Ah, bloody! So he is! Then if it was Billy 
the Porcupine we should find quills sticking 
in him.” 

He examined Washer’s wounds a little 
roughly, smiling all the time. Of course, 
there were no porcupine quills, and this 
seemed to please Sneaky immensely. 

“Just as I thought,” he said finally. “There 


Mother Wolf Listens to Washer’s Story 77 

are no quills. Therefore, there was no porcu- 
pine here. Then why did Little Brother de- 
ceive you?” 

He turned to the cubs, who were watching 
him curiously. 

“I’ll tell you, my children,” he continued. 
“It was a raccoon you had treed — one of Lit- 
tle Brother’s own people. He knew it all the 
time, and he didn’t want you to have him for 
your dinner. So he told you this little story 
about a porcupine, and sent you home to call 
us while his friend could escape in the woods. 
See, he’s gone. There’s nothing up the tree.” 

They followed the direction of his pointing 
nose. The tree was empty. Then they turned 
their eyes toward Washer. 

“Can you deny that, Little Brother?” 
Sneaky added in a beguiling voice. “Of 
course you can’t.” 

“But how’d he get hurt?” asked one of the 
cubs. “See, he’s bleeding all over.” 

Mother Wolf interfered at this moment. 
“Sneaky, you run down to the brook and get 
some water,” she commanded. “If Little 
Brother didn’t meet a porcupine, he ran into 
something just as bad. We won’t stop to dis- 
cuss that now. Hurry up with that water!” 

Sneaky dropped his tail between his legs 
and started for the brook, but half way there 


78 


Washer the Raccoon 


he stopped and said: “It wasn’t a porcupine, 
I know that. Therefore, it was a raccoon. 
Little Brother deceived my children to save 
his life. No wolf will stand for that. He’s 
not a friend of my people. I’ll tell Black 
Wolf that.” 

Mother Wolf, who had been busy cleaning 
the blood from Washer’s fur, looked a little 
disturbed. Sneaky had another argument 
against admitting Washer to the wolf pack. 

“Little Brother,” she whispered, “it is true 
what Sneaky says? Was Billy Porcupine up 
that tree?” 

Washer could not deceive Mother Wolf. 
She had been too kind to him. “No,” he an- 
swered, “it was a raccoon, and I couldn’t bear 
to see him killed. He belonged to my own 
people.” 

Mother Wolf nodded her head, showing 
that she understood his feelings. “But these 
wounds,” she added, a little puzzled. “How 
did you get them?” 

_ Washer was greatly distressed at this ques- 
tion. If he told the truth, he would have to 
condemn one of his own people of ingratitude, 
but even that was better than deceiving 
Mother Wolf. 

“It was the raccoon,” he answered after a 
pause. “When he came down the tree he bit 


Mother Wolf Listens to Washer’s Story 79 

me. He thought I belonged to the wolf pack, 
and he called me a traitor. I don’t suppose 
he understood.” 

“He didn’t deserve the kindness you showed 
him,” was the quick retort. “If he was near 
here Pd send the children and Sneaky after 
him. He deserves punishment. Do you know 
where he’s hiding?” 

“No! He ran away in the woods and that 
was the last I saw of him.” 

Mother Wolf had such confidence in 
Washer that she did not doubt his word. She 
knew that Little Brother would not deceive 
her to protect one of his own people. 

“Well, I’m glad he isn’t here,” she added, 
sighing. “Sneaky would hunt him down, and 
I don’t suppose you’d like to see him killed, 
even if he did bite you.” 

“No, I don’t wish him harm.” 

Washer’s voice was a little trembly, and a 
tear stood in one of his eyes. “What is it,” 
asked Mother Wolf sympathetically, “that 
makes you so sad, Little Brother? Do your 
wounds hurt you so much?” 

“No, I was thinking of my people,” replied 
Washer. “They won’t have me. They’ll turn 
against me because I was brought up in a 
wolf’s den, and your people won’t have me. 
I’m an outcast — without a home or people.” 


80 


Washer the Raccoon 


“Don’t say that,” whispered Mother Wolf 
“You’re my adopted child, and I shall always 
look after you. My people will have to take 
you. If they don’t — ” 

Her eyes flashed, and Washer knew that 
she was prepared to fight for him. But he 
had no desire to bring trouble to her, and he 
said : “No, no, don’t do that. Let me go away 
in the woods. I’m old enough now to make 
a living. You must not introduce me to the 
pack. I shall always remember you and my 
Wolf Brothers, but no good can come of try- 
ing to make me a wolf. I’m only a raccoon.” 

“Little Brother, don’t talk like that. I’m 
going to take you tomorrow to the council, 
and Black Wolf shall listen to me. My peo- 
ple must protect you. If Black Wolf says so 
none of them will dare harm you. Come 
now, and don’t feel sad any more.” 

Washer tried to dry his eyes and look cheer- 
ful, but it was not very easy to do this. His 
own people had denied him, and he dreaded 
appearing before the wolf pack. He knew 
that Sneaky would condemn him, and try to 
drive h\m away, and the very thought of 
Black Wolf made him shudder. What kind 
of a leader was he, and would he listen to 
Mother Wolf’s pleadings? In the next story 
you will read of how Mother Wolf took him 


Mother Wolf Listens to Washer’s Story 81 

to the council and pleaded with and defied the 
leader of the wolf pack. 


/ 




STORY ELEVEN 

WASHER IS INTRODUCED TO THE WOLF PACK 

Washer was taken with the cubs the fol- 
lowing night to the wolf council where they 
were to be introduced to the pack and form- 
ally admitted as members. All young wolves 
when they reach the hunting age had to be 
introduced by their parents, and the leader 
of the pack then announced their acceptance 
and gave to each a nane. Until that time they 
were simply cubs, unfit to hunt with the older 
wolves. 

The council was held in the deepest, thick- 
est part of the woods where no wild animal 
or hunter would be likely to disturb them. 
Once a month in the full of the moon the pack 
assembled around a big flat rock overlooking 
a pool of Water. Here they waited until 
Black Wolf, their leader, came and called the 
council to order. 

Mother Wolf was anxious to get to the 
council early, and she started her family off 
long before moon was up above the tops of 
the trees. Sneaky led the way, with the cubs 
filing behind him, and Mother Wolf bringing 
up the rear. 


83 


84 


Washer the Raccoon 


They were so early that they met none of 
the other wolves on the way, and Mother 
Wolf gave a sigh of relief when she found no 
one ahead of her. She drew up her little cir- 
cle of young ones in the shadow of a clump 
of birches on the right of the council rock, 
and then dropped down to rest. 

All was quiet in the woods. Not even Hoot 
the Owl or Whip-Poor-Will was abroad to 
disturb the silence of the great woods. Oc- 
casionally a shadow drifted across the flat 
rock, and a wolf would take his place in front 
or on one side of it. The moon rose slowly 
until it cast a flood of white light upon the 
top of the rock. Almost at the same moment 
there was a howl nearby, and out of the thick- 
ets sprang Black Wolf, the leader. He stood 
a moment looking at the crouching pack, and 
then he leaped to the top of the council rock. 
The whole pack rose as one and gave vent to 
their hunting cry. 

This was their way of recognizing their 
leader. Black Wolf stood a moment, a tall, 
gaunt, powerful creature, in the white moon- 
light, as if challenging any opposition, and 
then he dropped down with his front paws 
curled under him. 

“The council is open,” he announced. 


Washer is Introduced to the Wolf Pack 85 

“Has any one a message for the pack? We’re 
all here.” 

Sneaky rose from his position near Mother 
Wolf, and trotted in front of the rock. “O 
Black Wolf, noble leader of the pack,” he be- 
gan, “I bring my cubs for your inspection. 
May they please you, and prove worthy of 
their sire.” 

“Bring them forth!” replied Black Wolf. 
“They should be good cubs if they take after 
you, Sneaky.” 

The different members of the pack craned 
their heads forward to see Sneaky’s cubs, 
which, at the bidding of their parent, filed 
out in a row and stood before the council 
rock. Black Wolf surveyed them in silence, 
inspecting them with his fierce dark eyes. 

“You have done well by the pack, Sneaky,” 
he announced finally. “I name the first one 
Curly because his beautiful fur curls back- 
ward at the tips. The second one shall be 
known as Spotted Wolf, for I see gray spots 
under his neck. And the last one shall be 
known as Tiger Wolf because of the fierce- 
ness of his eyes. I have named them, and so 
shall they be known to the pack.” 

He stopped and looked hard at Sneaky, as 
if expecting him to say more; but Sneaky was 


80 


Washer the Raccoon 


pleased with his presentation, and backed 
slowly away. 

“Is there any more, Sneaky?” the leader 
asked 

Before Sneaky could reply, a tall, gaunt 
figure of a wolf rose from the shadows of the 
birch trees. It was Mother Wolf. She was 
going to speak for her foster child, and not 
let Sneaky introduce him. She trotted to the 
front, and swung around to face the pack an 
instant, and then turned to the council rock 
again. 

“O Black Wolf, mighty leader of our pack,” 
she began, “I have another child, which I 
have nursed and brought up in my den, and I 
wish to admit him to the pack. A foster child 
brought to me one day by Sneaky. I have 
cared for him and loved him as my own. I 
have taught him the ways of our people, and 
with us he must hunt, for his own people have 
cast him out.” 

All the wolves pricked up their ears at this 
strange announcement, and Black Wolf half 
rose from his sitting attitude; but his eyes had 
narrowed and darkened, for he knew from 
what Sneaky had told him that this thing 
might occur. 

“O Mother Wolf, you have spoken well, 
but we must see this foster child of yours,” 


Washer is Introduced to the Wolf Pack 87 

he said. “Is he a wolf cub from another 
pack?” 

“What matters it if he’s from another pack 
or no pack at all?” replied Mother Wolf. 
“A mother’s love is great enough to take to 
herself any child that is homeless and friend- 
less. Is it not on record that long ago a 
Mother Wolf nursed and brought up a man 
child, giving to him as much as she gave to 
her own offsprings? Then, if she can adopt a 
man child, why can she not take the offspring 
of any other animal of the woods — of Puma 
the Mountain Lion, for instance, or — ” 

“Puma’s offspring would bring disaster to 
us if we adopted him,” replied Black Wolf 
hastily, and the others shuddered at the mere 
mention of Puma’s name. “No, we could 
never admit a Puma as a member of the hunt- 
ing pack.” 

“No! No!” cried many voices. 

They jumped to their feet, ready to en- 
force their protest by actions. A young Puma 
would stand little chance in that company of 
angry wolves. 

“It is not Puma’s offspring,” replied 
Mother Wolf, smiling. “I could never learn 
to love anything that came out of Puma’s 
den.” 


88 


Washer the Raccoon 


“What animal is it then? Where is this fos- 
ter child?” several cried. 

“You hear them,” added Black Wolf. 
“What have you to say? Where is this one 
you plead for?” 

“He is yonder in the shadow of the birches. 
I shall call him out if you’ll give him protec- 
tion. If not — ” 

“He shall be protected,” interrupted the 
leader. “It is the law of the council.” 

Mother Wolf turned her head ever so 
slightly, and called: “Little Brother, come 
here!” 

Washer, with his heart beating fast, but 
confident that Mother Wolf would protect 
him, emerged slowly from the shadows and 
trotted toward her. At first the wolves could 
see nothing, so small was he, and then they 
could make out only a shadow that seemed 
to drift between them and the woods. But 
when Washer reached the foot of the council 
rock, the bright moonlight fell full upon him. 

“Here is my foster child!” exclaimed 
Mother Wolf proudly. “And my love for 
him is as great as for my own cubs. He is as 
wise as they, as brave, and as quick-witted. 
Look at him, and accept him.” 

Black Wolf rose to his feet and stared down 
at Washer. All the other wolves leaped to 


Washer is Introduced to the Wolf Pack 89 

their feet and closed in to get a better view. 
Then suddenly, before their leader could 
speak, a howl of derision went up from a score 
of throats. 

“A raccoon!” they shouted in merriment. 
“A raccoon! And he wishes to hunt with the 
pack!” 

For a moment the gale of merriment was 
so great that no one could be heard. Black 
Wolf tried to preserve order and his own dig- 
nity. Washer felt suddenly abashed and 
frightened, and wished there was a tree near 
that he could climb. In the next story the 
wolf pack try to kill Washer, but Mother 
Wolf comes to the rescue. 



STORY TWELVE 

BLACK WOLF DEFIES THE PACK 

Mother Wolf was even more annoyed and 
dismayed than Washer by the sudden outbreak 
of merriment when the pack caught sight 
of the raccoon standing before the council 
rock. Sneaky, from a position behind ap- 
parently enjoyed the embarrassment of his 
mate, for a broad grin spread over his face 
and he chuckled with the others. The young 
cubs stood by their father, but as the scene 
was a little puzzling to them they remained 
silent and motionless. 

“Give me the raccoon for my hunting com- 
panion !” shouted a big gray wolf. “I won’t 
go far then for my dinner!” 

The others began crowding around the 
council rock. “No ! No ! We want him !” they 
cried. “Turn him over to the pack!” 

Mother Wolf swung around and faced the 
circle of wolves, displaying her teeth and 
growling angrily. 

Black Wolf arose to his hind legs and let 
out a roar that brought the whole pack to its 
senses. The cries stopped, and every member 
slunk back to his position. The big leader 


91 


92 


Washer the Raccoon 


glared hard at them and waited a full minute 
to see if any dared oppose his authority. 

Then he turned slowly to Sneaky, and said: 
“Sneaky, do you bring this raccoon as your 
foster child ?” 

“No, O mighty leader, he is none of mine,” 
was the prompt reply. “I brought him to 
my den for food one day after I’d fished him 
out of the river. I wanted to kill him for the 
children, but Mother Wolf protested. I had 
nothing to do with his rearing. He would 
have died long ago if I’d had my way.” 

The members of the pack nodded their 
heads, and Black Wolf turned to Mother 
Wolf. He looked at her in silence for some 
time. Then, in a low voice, he said: “No 
foster child can hunt with the pack unless 
he’s a wolf. It’s against the law of the woods. 
If we permitted it Puma the Mountain Lion 
would be filling our homes with his young so 
they might grow up with us and destroy us. 
And Loup the Lynx would do the same so that 
he could betray our hiding places. There 
would be no safety for us after that.” 

“But Little Brother is a raccoon,” pleaded 
Mother Wolf. “Surely you’re not afraid of 
the raccoons. They could not hurt us nor be- 
tray us.” 

The whole pack sniffed in disgust at the 


Black Wolf Defies the Pack 


93 


idea of the raccoon tribe hurting the wolves. 

“That is true, O Mother Wolf,” replied 
Black Wolf, “but if we let you introduce a 
raccoon as a foster child, we could not prevent 
another bringing a young Puma or Lynx. We 
must obey the laws of our tribe, and keep from 
it all other animals.” 

A great sadness settled on Mother Wolfs 
face. She looked down at Washer and began 
licking his head. She knew that Black Wolfs 
words were law, and she could not defy them. 

“Then must I give up my foster child?” she 
asked. 

“No,” replied the leader, “you can take him 
home and keep him, but he is not under the 
protection of the pack. If they hunt him 
down and kill him you can blame no one. I 
cannot interfere.” 

There was a murmur of applause, and every 
wolf began licking his lips as if in anticipation 
of the feast ahead. The sight of their cruel 
greediness aroused Mother Wolf. She raised 
her head proudly, and said : 

“They will not dare touch him in my cave 
— notone of them! I shall protect him!” 

There was an ugly, defiant look in the eyes 
which made more than one wolf cower and 
slink back out of sight. Mother Wolf was a 
big, gaunt, powerful creature, and no one 


94 


Washer the Raccoon 


cared to measure his strength with her when 
she was defending her young. 

“The council is ended then?” she added, 
turning to the leader. “You refuse to accept 
Little Brother in the pack?” 

“It is so decided, Mother Wolf. And the 
law cannot be changed.” 

“Then I shall go home. Come, Little 
Brother, we must start at once before the 
moon grows dark. It is a long way, but — ” 

“One moment!” cried a big gray wolf. 
“Does the law of the woods give us the right 
to hunt for our food now? We’re hungry, and 
if the council has ended we may begin the 
hunt at once. Is it not true, O Black Wolf?” 

Now the leader and Mother Wolf both un- 
derstood the meaning of this challenge. The 
pack wanted to pounce upon Washer at once 
and devour him before he could ever reach 
the cave. Even Washer knew what was com- 
ing, and a great trembling seized him. He 
looked around him, but there was no tree near 
the council rock, and the whole pack stood 
between him and the woods. He had no 
chance to escape them. 

Black Wolf seemed troubled by the gray 
wolf’s questions, for he knew that he had no 
authority to change the law. Once his deci- 
sion was given there was nothing more for him 


Black Wolf Defies the Pack 


95 


to do. The whole pack had a right to fall 
upon Washer and kill him in sight of Mother 
Wolf. It was a dangerous situation. 

But Mother Wolf suddenly changed her 
attitude. She backed up against the council 
rock, with Washer behind her, and bared her 
white teeth to the pack. The hair stood up 
straight on her head, and the bushy tail be- 
gan swishing slowly back and forth. The 
yellow eyes were so luminous in the moonlight 
that they seemed to shoot sparks of fire. 

“If you’re hungry,” she growled, “and want 
to eat Little Brother, you must do so over my 
dead body. Not one of you shall touch him 
until you’ve felt the sting of my teeth. Come 
on now, Gray Wolf, and I’ll show you what 
mother love can do to save her young!” 

Gray Wolf hesitated, backing off a little, 
for Mother Wolf was a powerful antagonist. 
Alone he could not overcome her. Indeed, 
in her present frame of mind, she could prob- 
ably whip two or three ordinary wolves. She 
was crouching for the spring, with dripping 
jaws snapping defiantly. 

“Why should we be defied by one wolf!” 
cried the big gray fellow. “We must have the 
raccoon. Close in on him on all sides. Sneaky, 
you lead on that side, and I’ll do the same 
here.” 


96 


Washer the Raccoon 


Mother Wolf cast a look at Sneaky that 
made him hesitate, but at the same time the 
wolves on the outside of the circle began 
crowding in. They pushed and shoved until 
the circle was narrowed. Those in the front 
came within a few feet of Mother Wolf. 

With a growl she snapped at the nearest 
and caught him by the front paw. With a 
howl of pain, the wolf leaped over the backs 
of the others and disappeared in the woods. 
Mother Wolf sprang at another and sunk her 
sharp teeth in his neck. 

But in spite of all this the circle was grow- 
ing smaller. The pack was clamoring for the 
blood of Washer, and it was only a question 
of time before they would overcome Mother 
Wolf. She could not hope to fight off the 
whole pack. She seemed to realize this, but 
she was determined to die in the defense of 
her foster child. 

“Close in!” cried Gray Wolf. “Come on, 
Sneaky, do your part, or we’ll believe you love 
the raccoon too.” 

Now the battle would have ended shortly 
if something hadn’t happened to surprise all. 
With a roar of rage and challenge, Black 
Wolf leaped from the top of the rock and 
landed by the side of Mother Wolf. Facing 
the pack, he cried : 


Black Wolf Defies the Pack 97 

“Not as your leader, but as one fighting for 
fair play, I shall defend Mother Wolf. The 
first one that touches her shall pay with his 
life. Back now, or fight me!” 

There was a moment of silence; then a low 
murmur of voices as the circle broke and fell 
back, leaving only Gray Wolf and Sneaky in 
the front. Finding themselves deserted by the 
pack, they quickly ran, too, and disappeared 
in the woods. In the next story Mother Wolf 
takes Washer to the Silver Birch grove where 
his people live. 
























STORY THIRTEEN 

WASHER GOES TO THE SILVER BIRCH GROVE 

Black Wolf’s unexpected defense of Mother 
Wolf and Washer saved them from what 
might have been sure death to the latter and 
serious injury to the former. None of the 
pack dared to offer battle to their leader, and 
the moment he sided with Mother Wolf they 
broke ranks and ran off into the woods. 

When they were gone, Mother Wolf turned 
gratefully to the big leader, and said: “You 
have saved my life, Black Wolf. What can 
I do to repay you?” 

“Hurry home with your foster child, 
Mother Wolf, before the pack changes its 
mind and returns. I will accompany you.” 

More than ever grateful now for seeing that 
she got back to her den in safety, Mother Wolf 
led the way through the woods, with Washer 
close behind her, and the leader of the pack 
bringing up the rear. Silently and noiseless- 
ly they stole single file through the woods, 
with eyes and ears alert to catch any unusual 
sound. 

But nothing happened on the way. They 
reached the cave in safety, where Black Wolf 


99 


100 


Washer the Raccoon 


stopped. “I’ll not go in,” he said. “Now 
you’re home you’ll know how to defend your- 
self.” 

“Yes, I can defend my home,” she replied. 
“I’ll not need any help now. Thank you a 
thousand times for helping me.” 

“I did it, Mother Wolf,” replied the leader, 
“because I remember how we used to play to- 
gether when young, and bcause I wanted to 
see justice done. But now that you’ve got 
your foster child home, what are you going to 
do with him? He can’t hunt with the pack, 
and not being under their protection they will 
hunt him down and kill him. Wherever he 
goes they will follow. You can’t always stay 
in the den watching him. You must hunt 
with the pack at times to get your share of 
food. If you stay here alone you’ll starve.” 

Mother Wolf looked troubled, and said 
nothing. She knew how true Black Wolf’s 
words were, and she had not taken them light- 
ly. When he finally left her, she walked into 
the cave with Washer by her side. It was 
empty. Sneaky and the cubs had not yet re- 
turned. 

“They’re out hunting, and won’t return 
until morning,” she said. “Now, Little 
Brother, we can find some rest.” 

But Washer was not anxious for rest — not 


Washer Goes to Silver Birch Grove 101 

in the Wolf’s den. He felt that the night’s 
adventure had broken up his old home. There 
could no longer be any ties to hold him to it. 
In time the cubs would side with pack and 
turn upon him. 

“I can never stay here,” he said suddenly. 
“If I do I’m in constant danger, and you, 
too, will be in trouble. The whole pack will 
turn against you. I must leave.” 

“But where can you go, Little Brother?” 
asked Mother Wolf anxiously. 

“I must return to my own people.” 

“But they won’t have you. Didn’t you say 
one of them bit you and threatened your life?” 

“Yes, but he didn’t know me. I must find 
one of my real brothers, and he will under- 
stand.” 

Mother Wolf sat down and considered. 
After a while she got up and paced back and 
forth in the den. “Maybe you’re right,” she 
said finally, stopping before him. “There 
would be nothing but danger here for you, and 
in time my own children would drive you out 
and perhaps kill you. Yes, it’s better that you 
should return to your own people. But if 
they won’t have you, I’ll still protect you.” 

Washer rose excitedly to his feet. “Then 
I must go at once — before the cubs and Sneaky 
return. They must find me gone, and if you 


102 Washer the Raccoon 

don’t tell them where I am they’ll never 
know.” 

“That’s true, Little Brother. But where 
shall we go tonight?” 

“To the Silver Birch grove where my peo- 
ple live. It’s above the falls where I fell in 
the water. Take me there, and I’ll watch 
and wait for them.” 

“But suppose some of the wolves found you 
in the Silver Birch Grove?” 

“What matter’s that?” laughed Washer. “I 
can climb a tree which is more than any of 
the wolves can do. I’ll go up the biggest tree, 
and laugh at them.” 

“Yes, Little Brother, you can do that. I’d 
forgotten that your people are tree climbers. 
Well,” sighing heavily, “it’s the only thing to 
do, but it makes me sad to lose you. I shall 
mourn you every day you’re away.” 

“Not more than if you saw me killed by 
your own people,” added Washer, smiling up 
into her face. 

She nodded her head and began licking his 
fur. In a short time she was ready to ac- 
company him to the grove of Silver Birches. 
This was some distance from the cave, and 
they had to be wary in their movements, for 
the whole wolf pack was abroad on the hunt. 
They heard their distant howls on the clear 


Washer Goes to Silver Birch Grove 103 

night air, but by keeping away from them 
they soon got beyond their echo. 

They trotted along through the moonlight, 
following the river toward the falls. Just be- 
low them they stopped, while Washer pointed 
out where Sneaky had found him when he 
jumped ashore from his raft. 

“That must have been a terrible adventure, 
Little Brother,” Mother Wolf said. “I never 
heard of any animal coming over the falls and 
living. It must be you have a charmed life.” 

“If so it’s because I’ve had such a good fos- 
ter mother,” replied Washer. “You saved me 
from Sneaky, and tonight you saved me from 
the pack. You’re as brave as you are kind 
and loving. I shall never forget you.” 

Mother Wolf was greatly affected by these 
words, and she showed her gratitude in her 
eyes. Once more she slicked down the soft 
fur of her foster child and murmured gentle 
words of love. Then they started off once 
more on their journey. 

They climbed the steep rocks that led to 
the upper part of the falls, and once on their 
summit they headed directly for the grove of 
Silver Birches. In the soft moonlight the 
birches glistened and shone like twinkling 
stars, the leaves showing white and silvery. 
It was almost like a fairy scene, and Washer 


104 


Washer the Raccoon 


raised his head in delight. He was near his 
original home, in the land of his own people, 
and his little heart beat with excitement. 

What would his own people do? Would 
they receive him or drive him away? The 
very thought of this made him shiver. He 
would then be without a home or country of 
his own. He would be an outcast, which is 
the worst thing that can be said of man or 
animal. 

“I shall wait here in this big birch until 
some of my people appear,” Washer said when 
they stole silently under the shadow of the 
grove. “I am safe here. I shall climb up in 
that crotch and sleep until morning. No wolf 
can get me.” 

“No, not even Black Wolf could reach you 
up there. None of my people could jump that 
high. Are you quite sure you can climb that 
high?” 

“I’ll show you,” laughed Washer. “You 
never saw me climb a tree before.” 

He wanted to show her how well he could 
run up the tree, and he was proud of his ac- 
complishment when she watched him in sil- 
ence, and then said: “Wonderful, Little 
Brother! I wish my cubs could do as well. 
Now, if you’re safe I’ll go. Good-bye!” 

Washer waved a paw to her until she had 



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Washer Goes to Silver Birch Grove 105 

disappeared from sight, and then with a sigh 
of contentment he curled up in a round ball 
and went to sleep. He was very tired after 
the night’s adventure, and was glad to get a 
few hours of sleep before morning dawned. 
He was safe from the wolves. In the morning 
he would see if he was safe among his own 
people. In the next story Washer meets an 
enemy that can climb trees. 



! 















STORY FOURTEEN 

WASHER IS TREED BY STRANGERS 

Now Washer had not been sleeping long, al- 
though it seemed a great while to him, when a 
peculiar rustling noise below awakened him. 
With one eye still closed, and the other only 
half opened, he called sleepily: 

“Is that you, Mother Wolf?” 

There was no answer, and Washer opened 
both eyes. If it was Mother Wolf who had 
made the rustling sound, she would have an- 
swered his question immediately. Washer 
concluded that it was somebody else. Then he 
thought of the cubs. It would be like them 
not to answer, but try to steal upon him to 
give him a fright. 

“I know you’re down there, Brothers,” he 
added. “You can’t frighten me. I’m up the 
tree, and no wolf can climb up here.” 

There was still no response, and the silence 
of the woods suddenly made Washer a little 
afraid. He became wide awake. He remem- 
bered now what had happened to him; how 
he had been rejected by the wolves, and how 
Mother Wolf had brought him to the grove 
of Silver Birches to find his own people. 


107 


108 


Washer the Raccoon 


He also remembered that the wolf pack had 
declared they would hunt him down and kill 
him. They were thirsting for his blood, and 
now that Mother Wolf had left him they had 
followed his tracks and treed him. 

Yes, down below there were undoubtedly 
many of the wolves — the whole pack for all he 
knew — and the moment he came down they 
would pounce upon him. Washer shivered, 
and crawled to a higher crotch. The moon 
had gone down, and the woods were wrapped 
in darkness. It was impossible for him to see 
anything below; but the thought that wolves 
could not climb trees brought a sense of se- 
curity. He was safe there from Sneaky, Gray 
Wolf and the whole pack. 

He waited a long time for a repetition of 
the noise, and then decided that he would re- 
sume his sleep. If the wolves couldn’t climb 
the tree what was the use of worrying about 
them? He closed his eyes with a sigh of re- 
lief. 

Then came the rustling noise again — this 
time much nearer the trunk of the tree. It 
came nearer, and finally reached the tree itself. 
There was a slight jar that made the leaves 
tremble. Washer thought it was a wolf leap- 
ing up, trying to reach the lower branches; 


Washer is Treed by Strangers 109 

but it was followed by a steady rustling, scrap- 
ing noise that puzzled him. 

For a long time he was uncertain what to 
make of it, but when it came nearer and 
nearer, and finally seemed to be in the tree it- 
self, he grew terribly frightened. Somebody 
or something was climbing the tree! 

When Washer made this discovery his 
alarm was genuine. With a little squeak of 
fear he ran to the top branch of the tree. But 
the scraping, rustling noise followed him. It 
first came from the lower branches ; then from 
the middle ones, and now it was approaching 
the top. 

Washer strained his eyes in the darkness 
to see this unknown creature that was slowly 
crawling toward him. In time he could make 
out a dark form; then another and another. 
There were three creatures climbing the tree! 

Washer’s terror reached a climax. He ran 
so far out on a branch that it threatened to 
break with him. He was panic-stricken! It 
would not have been at all surprising if he had 
lost his hold and fallen to the ground below. 
There was no other tree near enough for him 
to reach, and it was either a matter of holding 
on and fighting his enemies up there among 
the top-most branches or dropping to the 
ground thirty feet below. 


110 


Washer the Raccoon 


“Who is that?” he demanded between chat- 
tering teeth. 

Then in a little panicky voice he added: 
“If you don’t get away I’ll call Mother Wolf, 
and she’ll eat you up.” 

That threat had the effect of loosening the 
tongue of one of the animals, for a voice said 
in a low growl : “Hear him ! Didn’t I tell you 
he was a friend of the wolves? Now he’s going 
to call them to kill us. But wolves can’t climb 
trees. Come on, we’ll catch him! He can’t 
get away!” 

Now Washer recognied that voice at once. 
It was that of the raccoon he had saved from 
the cubs, and who in return for his kindness 
had bitten him. In some way he had dis- 
covered Washer’s presence in the tree, and 
had summoned his friends to kill him. For a 
moment Washer was more afraid of his own 
people than of the wolves. Then he decided 
he would make matters plain to them. 

“Please don’t come any further,” he said in 
a shaking voice. “You just listen to me. I’m 
not going to hurt you.” 

“Listen to that!” sniffed the big raccoon. 
“He promises not to hurt us. Well, I don’t 
think we’ll give him a chance. But we’ll 
hurt you.” 


Washer is Treed by Strangers 111 

“But why do you want to hurt me?” asked 
Washer. 

“Because you’re a friend of the wolves, and 
you’re sent here to betray us to them. We saw 
you come in the grove of Silver Birches with 
a big wolf, and then say farewell to her. We 
knew it was all a trap. You nearly had me 
killed that day when — ” 

“No, no,” interrupted Washer, “I saved 
your life when the cubs had you treed. If it 
hadn’t been for me they’d caught you.” 

“No wolf can catch me when I’m up a 
tree,” growled the raccoon. 

“No, but they would have watched and 
waited at the foot of the tree until you were 
starved out,” replied Washer. “You don’t 
know how patient a wolf can be.” 

“I don’t, eh?” snapped the raccoon. “I was 
treed by one once, and he kept me there for 
nearly a week, but he got hungry before I did 
and went away.” 

“What are you going to do to me?” Washer 
asked more interested in this question than 
what happened to the big raccoon one day. 

“We’re going to punish you, and then drive 
you back to your friends — the wolves.” 

“The wolves are not my friends any more,” 
pleaded Washer. 


112 


Washer the Raccoon 


“Wasn’t that wolf who came here with you 
a friend?” 

“Why, yes, that was Mother Wolf,” stam- 
mered Washer. 

“What did I tell you?” cried the big rac- 
coon. “He admits it. If you’re a friend of a 
wolf you’re the enemy to all raccoons.” 

“No!” interrupted Washer. “Let me ex- 
plain!” 

“Now we’ve got him!” interrupted the rac- 
coon, who had been creeping nearer. “Shake 
him off the branch! If the fall doesn’t kill 
him our people will catch him. He can’t 
escape. 

The three raccoons sprang toward the 
swaying branch and began shaking it. Washer 
clung to it desperately, and it was impossible 
to dislodge him. 

“Bite it! Gnaw it ofT !” cried the leader of 
the raccoons.” 

To Washer’s horror, they began biting and 
gnawing at the branch, which soon sagged 
lower and lower. It snapped under his weight 
and the next moment broke off close to the 
trunk. Washer felt himself going down, 
down, down! 

He let out a little squeak of fear as he felt 
himself falling through space. His head 


Washer is Treed by Strangers 113 

struck a lower branch, and his feet got entan- 
gled in a few small twigs, but they could not 
check his fall. He went down, down, down 
until he landed with a loud plump on the soft 
earth. When he got up to run he found him- 
self surrounded by a circle of raccoons, each 
one swishing his tail and gnashing his teeth. 
In the next story Washer saves his people 
from a terrible death. 



STORY FIFTEEN 

THE CUBS LISTEN TO WASHER'S PLEA 

Washer was severely bruised by his fall 
from the tree, but fortunately no bones were 
broken. He limped a little, and felt a peculiar 
sensation in one of his front paws; but these 
small pains were nothing to the fear that pos- 
sessed him when he saw the angry circle of 
raccoons. 

They were facing him on all sides so there 
was no chance for him to escape. He turned 
around several times to find an opening, but 
his only hope was to jump over the backs of 
his enemies, which was something he felt un- 
equal to. Even so they would catch him, for 
he could not expect to jump higher in the air 
than the others. 

He felt the best way out of the difficulty was 
not to fight, but to stand his ground and try 
to explain. “Wait!” he cried in a trembly 
voice. “Please do not touch me until you’ve 
listened to my story. I’m a raccoon myself, 
and I’ve come — ” 

“Don’t listen to him!” cried the big raccoon 
up the tree. “Catch him and bite him!” 


115 


116 


Washer the Raccoon 


There was a sound of gnashing teeth all 
around which made Washer shiver. One of 
the raccoons sprang forward and snapped at 
his tail. 

“Fm your friend!” cried Washer, drawing 
his tail up under him. 

“He’s a friend of the wolves!” shouted the 
one from the branches of the tree. “Don’t be- 
lieve him! He came here with a wolf, and he 
said the wolf was his friend. Therefore, he’s 
no friend of the raccoons.” 

“No! No!” cried several. “He deserves 
death.” 

Washer knew they would not listen to him. 
They were so excited that in their anger they 
might kill him before he could tell his story. 
Clearly then he had to make a desperate effort 
to escape. If Mother Wolf was only near, she 
would protect him. In his desperation, he 
cried : 

“O, Mother Wolf, help me! Help me!” 

“Listen to him!” said several. “He’s call- 
ing to the wolves to help him. Now we know 
he’s a traitor.” 

And with that they made a rush for him. 
They all seemed to spring forward at once. In- 
stead of trying to leap over their heads, Wash- 
er ducked down low as if to hide. 

This was the only thing that saved him. The 


The Cubs Listen to Washer’s Plea 117 

circle of raccoons springing toward a common 
center came together with a plump, and some 
of them were knocked over by their own 
weight. They bit and scratched at each other, 
supposing that they had Washer, and before 
they could recover from their surprise Washer 
wa9 crawling stealthily between their legs to 
the outskirts of the crowd. No one noticed 
him until he was clear of the mass of wrig- 
gling, fighting animals. 

Washer started on a run for the woods, hop- 
ing to get away in the darkness and hide. But 
the big raccoon dropping out of the tree saw 
him, and started in pursuit. 

“There he goes!” he shouted. “Don’t let 
him escape! Run after him!” 

In a few moments the whole colony of rac- 
coons were after him. Now Washer felt he 
had an even change in a race to escape. His 
long training with the wolf cubs had taught 
him to run with great speed. The way he 
stretched his legs made even the big raccoon 
wonder if he could ever overtake him. 

Out of the grove of Silver Birches he ran, 
and when he reached the thick woods beyond 
he plunged desperately into them. Big trees 
were all around him, but he dared not climb 
one, for his pursuers would then corner him. 


118 


Washer the Raccoon 


They could climb trees as well as he. No, he 
had to escape by running and hiding. 

The race was going to be a long one, for 
Washer was fleet of foot and strong of muscle, 
and he was running for his life. But his pur- 
suers were equally determined to catch him, 
and they came after him in a straggling line, 
the bigger and stronger ones leading the way. 
Gradually the weaker ones were left behind, 
and not more than half a dozen were in sight. 

Suddenly Washer came to a clearing in the 
woods. In the center of this was a pile of 
rocks. The thought that he might find a hole 
under them where he could hide induced him 
to leave the woods and cross the open space. 

But the pursuing raccoons saw him, and ran 
pell mell into the opening. Washer reached 
the rocks first, but to his dismay there was no 
hole under them — not even a tiny crevice in 
which he could hide. It looked as if the race 
was ended, and he was cornered. In a last 
desperate effort he scrambled on top of the 
rocks, and waited. 

The other raccoons followed him up there, 
and the leader shouted triumphantly: “Now 
we’ve got him!” 

Washer squealed as one of them nipped at 
his tail and another at his front paws. “Please, 
please — ” he began, whimpering with pain. 


The Cubs Listen to Washer’s Plea 119 

Now whether it was his cry, or the loud 
noise made by the scampering raccoons, it is 
impossible to say, but there were other eyes 
and ears in the woods that had been drawn to 
the scene, and Washer’s words were hardly 
out of his mouth before several dark forms 
shot out of the woods and crossed the open 
space. At the same moment the hunting cry 
of the wolf pack startled the raccoons and 
made them crouch in terror on top of the 
rock. They forgot Washer, and turned their 
attention to the wolves. 

To their dismay there seemed no chance of 
escape. The wolves had them surrounded on 
all sides as they broke from the cover of the 
bushes on four sides. 

That terrible, blood-thirsty hunting cry of 
the pack terrified the cornered raccoons so 
they could not move. They flattened down 
on the rock and waited for the end. 

But Washer had recognized the familiar 
hunting cry. He knew those voices. They 
came from his own foster brothers — Mother 
Wolf’s cubs. Fortunately Sneaky wasn’t with 
them. Neither was there any other member 
of the pack. 

Washer took courage, and raised himself on 
the top of the rock. “Brothers,” he called as 


120 


Washer the Raccoon 


loudly as he could, “please don’t hurt me or 
any of my people.” 

The cubs stopped short at the foot of the 
rock, and looked up. “Why, it’s Little 
Brother!” they cried in a chorus. 

“Yes,” answered Washer, “I’m up here with 
my people. When the pack said they would 
kill me, Mother Wolf and Black Wolf took 
me home. Then I asked Mother Wolf to 
bring me back to my people. I knew I 
couldn’t live with the wolves any longer, and 
Mother Wolf knew she couldn’t protect me 
forever from them. So she said she’d bring 
me to my own people. I came to Silver Birch 
grove, and she left me there.” 

“And you found your people?” asked the 
cubs. 

“Yes, they’re here with me now.” 

“And do they treat you well, Little 
Brother?” asked the oldest of the cubs. “We 
thought we heard you crying for help. If 
they don’t treat you well, we’ll kill them and 
eat them. We’re very hungry.” 

“Oh, they’re going to treat me well, Broth- 
ers,” replied Washer. “If you promise to go 
away, and not hurt them they will treat me 
well.” 

The cubs were silent for a moment. Then 
one of them spoke for all. “If what you say 


The Cubs Listen to Washer’s Plea 121 

is true, Little Brother, we won’t kill them. 
We’ll go away, and leave them this time.” 
“Please do,” pleaded Washer. 

And the cubs, because they loved Little 
Brother, nodded their heads and trotted off in 
the woods. In the next story Washer finds 
his real brothers and mother. 



STORY SIXTEEN 

WASHER FINDS HIS MOTHER AND BROTHERS 

When the wolf cubs had disappeared in 
the woods, leaving the raccoons in possession 
of the rock, a long silence followed. Every 
little ear was strained to catch the slightest 
sound of a foot-fall, for the raccoons were still 
suspicious, and were ready for a trap. 

But the padded feet of the wolves grew 
fainter and fainter, and finally died away com- 
pletely. Slowly then one after another of 
the raccoons raised his head and sniffed the 
air. They could tell w T hether there was any 
wolf smell near, and if one of the cubs was 
lying in the bushes near they could detect it. 

“You needn’t be afraid,” Washer said fin- 
ally. “The cubs never deceived me. They’ve 
gone away for good, and there’s no danger.” 

“Why did they do that?” asked one of the 
raccoons. 

“Because I was brought up in the den with 
them as their brother, and we always played 
together and loved each other until the wolf 
pack drove me away. I cannot go back to 
the den, for the price of death is on my head. 
I have no friends among them, except Mother 


1 23 


124 


Washer the Raccoon 


Wolf who raised me, and the cubs, who are 
too young yet to want to kill me. But in time 
they will forget their Little Brother, and hunt 
me like all the others.” 

“What were you doing in the wolf’s den in 
the first place?” asked one of the raccoons. 

“I was lost, and Sneaky picked me up to 
feed the cubs. He carried me to his cave, but 
Mother Wolf took pity on me because I was 
only a baby. She saved me from Sneaky and 
raised me with her own children.” 

“Why were you lost when only a baby?” 
queried another. 

“Alas! I fell in the river one day when I 
was playing with my two brothers, and I was 
carried over the falls. I couldn’t swim, but 
I clung to a board, and that saved me. I 
thought I was killed a dozen times, but I 
wasn’t, and below the falls I found a landing 
on the shore. It was there that Sneaky found 
me and carried me away to kill for his young.” 

Now one of the raccoons, who had been lis- 
tening silently to Washer’s words, suddenly 
jumped to his feet, and ran up and peered into 
his face. He looked at him so long and in- 
tently that Washer was embarrassed. 

“How many brothers had you?” he asked. 

“Two,” replied Washer sadly. “They were 
both dear to me, but I never saw them again.” 


Washer Finds His Mother and Brothers 125 

“Where was it that you fell in the river?” 
added the excited raccoon. 

“Where the big pine lies in the river just 
above the falls. It was where mother took 
us to play on pleasant days.” 

“What did your mother call you?” went on 
the speaker excitedly. 

“Washer!” 

The raccoon who had been asking these 
questions suddenly sprang toward Washer as 
if he intended to bite him; but instead of do- 
ing that he flung both front paws around his 
neck and hugged him. 

“Don’t you know me, Washer?” he cried. 
“Don’t you know your own brother? I was 
with you that day, and heard you cry. I 
thought you were joking, and I didn’t reply. 
Then mother heard you, and she ran down to 
the river just in time to see you go over the 
falls. You’re my long lost brother?” 

Washer was so surprised and overcome by 
this announcement that for a moment he could 
not speak. Tears of joy started from his eyes. 

“You’re my own real brother?” he said in 
awe. 

“Yes, see this scar on my paw. You remem- 
ber how I got it the day I tumbled out of my 
nest on the rocks?” 

“Yes, yes, cried Washer excitedly. “And 


126 


Washer the Raccoon 


you remember how I broke off the tip of my 
tail. See, it’s gone yet It never grew on 
again.” 

“Now, I know you, Washer,” added the 
other, examining the end of the tail. “Of 
course, you’re my long lost brother.” 

Before the surprised raccoons they began 
embracing each other. Washer’s joy was so 
great that his heart beat like a trip-hammer. 
After a while, he asked. 

“And my other brother — is he alive?” 

“Yes, he was with us, but didn’t reach the 
rock. He’s probably hiding up some tree, ex- 
pecting we’ll all be killed by the wolves.” 

“Then I must go to him, too. I want to see 
him. And mother — is she still alive?” 

“Yes, Washer, she’s alive, too, but so old 
and feeble, she can’t hun" with us. We have 
to carry food home to her. She’s never for- 
given herself for losing you. She blames her- 
self for letting you fall in the river. It made 
her whole life sad. I think the joy of seeing 
you again will make her young again.” 

“Then I must go to her at once! You will 
show me the way?” 

“Yes, we’ll all go now.” 

It was then that the big raccoon, who had 
led the others in the chase, and who had 
driven Washer out of the tree, stepped for- 


Washer Finds His Mother and Brothers 127 

ward and spoke. He was so big and fierce 
looking that Washer knew he was the leader 
of the colony. 

“Let me say a word before you go,” he in- 
terrupted. “If this is Washer I am glad to 
welcome him home again. But first I want to 
ask his forgiveness. He’s twice saved my life. 
That day when I was treed by the wolves, and 
he sent them off until I could escape, I thought 
it was only a trick to get me out of the tree. 
I bit him severely and called him a traitor.” 

“But you didn’t understand,” interrupted 
Washer. 

“No, I didn’t understand. And again to- 
night when you came into Silver Birch grove, 
I thought it was a trick to trap us. I saw you 
had a wolf for a friend, and I thought you in- 
tended to trick all of my people. Now, after 
chasing you, and threatening to kill you, you 
saved all our lives again by calling off the 
cubs. That was a noble thing to do, Washer. 
I shall never forget it — none of us shall ever 
forget it.” 

“Why, what else could I do?” stammered 
Washer. “I couldn’t see my own people 
killed.” 

“Not if they drove you away and refused 
to recognize you?” asked the leader. 


128 


Washer the Raccoon 


“No, not if they killed me,” replied 
Washer. 

The leader was greatly affected by these 
words, and his voice trembled a little when he 
spoke again. “I shall never forget those words, 
Washer. You have made me your friend 
forever. Come now, we must go to your 
mother. I shall tell her the whole story, and 
it will gladden her heart, and lift the sorrow 
that has long made it heavy.” 

You can imagine how happy Washer was 
to come back to his people and be welcomed 
by them, but his joy was still greater to find 
that his old mother was waiting to receive 
him, and that his two brothers were ready to 
do anything for him to show their love. And 
so the great adventure down Rocky Falls 
ended happily. Mothered by a wolf, Washer 
had learned ways of hunting that would be of 
great value to him in the future, and long 
after he returned to his own people he taught 
them little tricks that saved many of them 
from the jaws of the wolf pack. They became 
so shrewd and wise that the wolves found their 
hunting so poor that they drew further and 
further away from the grove of Silver Birches, 
and life was made happier and happier for 
the colony of raccoons. 

Washer lived a long and useful life in the 


Washer Finds His Mother and Brothers 129 

woods, and perhaps you will hear more of 
him and his friends in the book of 
“Sandy the Crane.” 

Sandy is the first of the series of “Twilight 
Bird Stories,” which include interesting ad- 
ventures of “Scarlet the Ibis,” “Pintail the 
Wild Duck,” “Plover the Golden,” and 
“Skinner the Tern.” 

If you read one you will want to read all, 
for all these bird friends of the woods and 
swamps had many wonderful adventures. 

THE END. 





















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